Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“You’ll have to pressure wash this area up here more often than around the other tanks,” Hank says gruffly as he limps across the deck that surrounds the top of a huge aquarium. Dream stares into its depths, unable to spot its inhabitants. “That mermaid likes to throw its food back out at whatever employee is unlucky enough to be assigned to feed it. But sometimes it waits until they’re gone and makes a mess of the place. Damn waste of money, that thing.”

Dream stops next to the man at the edge of the tank, still peering into the blue water in an attempt to see the infamous creature that has caused this place to thrive in recent years. “You’re not going to see it,” Hank grunts, turning away so that Dream has to follow, “It hardly ever comes out of its hiding place, especially when the crowds are here.” The question of ‘why?’ sits on Dream’s tongue, but he learned earlier that Hank doesn’t want to be asked unnecessary questions during this tour. Dream figures he just wants to train the new guy and get out of here. His orientation ends at the security office. “If you need anything, just ask the security guys. You start tomorrow night.” Hank claps him on the shoulder, “Good luck, kid.”

With a half-hearted smile as he walks away, Dream says, “Thanks.” Leaning in the doorway of the office, he watches people pour out the front door of the aquarium as the speakers throughout the building announce that it is closing time.

“Can I help you with something?” asks a stalky security guard about his age as he walks up to Dream.

“Oh! Sorry, no, I’m the new maintenance and janitorial guy. Just finished orientation. I’m Dream.” He sticks out his hand.

The guy takes it in a firm grip and Dream’s eyes trace over his kind smile and scruffy beard. “Oh cool, I’m Sapnap. Karl and I are the night security team. When do you start?”

“Tomorrow.”

“Alright, let me relieve the day crew. Karl should be here soon and we’ll get you the right codes and keys and stuff.”

“Sounds good,” Dream mumbles as he lets Sapnap pass into the office. As he waits for his new escort, he gazes around the big blue atrium area, tracking the last few people who trickle through the doors. He only went to one or two aquariums as a kid, they were more of a zoo kind of family. This place smells like damp carpet and a scent that reminds him of salt or chlorine. This job is going to be a breeze compared to his previous job waiting tables. Not only does it pay more, but he gets to work alone with his headphones in and the fish won’t constantly be asking him for things. He’ll have to get used to the night time schedule and the ten hour shift, but overall he can already tell that this is going to be perfect.

His gaze lands on a giant banner that features a busty blonde ‘mermaid’ smiling next to the words “REAL LIVE MERMAID.” From the advertising he’d seen, he thought it was just one of those things where people who were trained to swim and hold their breath like mermaids got in the tanks with the fish and waved at kids, but the way his predecessor talked makes him think otherwise. Maybe there really is an actual mermaid in there.

“Dream, this is Karl,” Says Sapnap, sweeping a hand toward his new companion.

Dream turns toward a slender guy with fluffy brown hair who he would guess is around his age. The guy waves and gives a grinning, “Hi.”

“Nice to meet you. I suspect you guys have things to tell me that old Hank did not,” he says with a smile, fidgeting with his fingers.

Sapnap laughs and Karl says, “You bet we do.” They proceed to take him on a tour that consists of jokes and impractical information, the complete opposite of his earlier introduction to his new workplace.

“And finally,” Karl says dramatically, narrow fingers resting on the handle of an unassuming door, “The best spot in the building to sneak a makeout session,” he says with a giggle, flinging open the door to an ordinary storage closet.

“Or more than a makeout,” Sapnap comments.

Dream laughs, “I don’t think I’ll be needing that one.”

“You never know,” Karl says with a shrug.

The guards provide him with proper security clearance and then the three men hang around in the office getting to know each other.

“So you two will kind of be my only co-workers?” Dream asks, leaning against the desk.

“Yep,” Karl says, “Pretty much. Opening crew gets here right when we leave.”

“We barely ever saw Hank,” Sapnap says, “The aquarium is pretty peaceful. But you’ll have a radio if anything weird happens or if you get freaked out. Those big tanks can get creepy with most of the lights off at night if you get in your head about it.”

“Especially-” Karl starts but Sapnap shakes his head.

A chill runs up Dream’s spine. “Especially what?” The guards share a glance. “Come on, what?”

“Especially the mermaid exibit,” Karl says in a low voice.

“Merman,” Sapnap corrects.

Karl shrugs, “You’ve seen him a few more times than I have.”

“What’s creepy about it?” Dream asks, tapping his fingers on the desk with nervous energy.

Karl looks at Sapnap which prompts him to speak, “I think he looks scarily smart.”

“What does that mean?”

“He’s too close to a human to be stuck in an aquarium.” An uneasy silence settles over the room.

Dream shifts his weight on his feet, “I didn’t even think there was a real mermaid here.”

“He’s definitely real. He doesn’t really come out during the day, though. He’s at least smart enough to avoid all the kids banging on the glass. Let’s go see if he’s out tonight,” Sapnap says, pushing himself out of his chair.

As the trio walks towards the exhibit, Sapnap and Karl talk about the few times they’ve seen the creature. Karl even spoke to one of the aquarium handlers about feeding the merman. Apparently, he throws the fish right back out just like Hank said.

They stand before the vast wall of glass that appears only as a blue haze without anything swimming through it. Dream can make out the vague shapes of fake ocean plants and coral.

“It’s easier to see in there during the day with the big lights on,” Sapnap says, “He has a sort of cave thing over there to hide in. He stays there most of the time.” He lifts a fist and knocks on the glass like you would someone’s front door. Dream holds his breath, searching the water. Nothing happens.

“At least he has a huge tank to himself,” Karl says.

“Once you see him, though,” Sapnap says, turning to Dream and pointing at the glass, “You’ll know what I mean. He looks like he has human intelligence. It’s in the eyes. Looks like what you’d think a mermaid would look like otherwise. Blue tail and stuff. Gills. Saw some sharp teeth the one time I was actually close to the tank when he came out. Creepy.”

“He’s probably harmless,” Dream says, half a throwaway comment, half an assurance to himself that he doesn’t need to be scared while walking around alone.

“I’m freaked out now, dude,” Karl says with a laugh, “Let’s go back to the office.”

“Mermaids are going to eat you in your sleep!” Sapnap teases, jabbing him in the side as they start walking back toward the front. Dream follows behind, but out of the corner of his eye, he sees a flash of blue scales in the depths of the vast aquarium. He walks faster to catch up with Karl and Sapnap.

Over the next week, Dream gets used to the seemingly empty tank. Throughout the aquarium as he works, an array of ocean creatures keep him company, but the mermaid exhibit remains a wall of blue. He cleans the deck around the top of the tank every few days, washing off remnants of dead fish that prove they're actually feeding something in there during the day.

Tonight, he replaces a lightbulb in the viewing area between the mermaid exhibit and the sharks that live in the opposite tank. "Why's this have to be so complicated," he mumbles under his breath, hand braced on the top of the ladder as he leans over to look at the light from a different angle.

At that moment, he gets the distinct feeling that he's being watched. Slowly, Dream lifts his gaze to the shark tank across from him, but they swim smoothly along, minding their own business. Holding onto the ladder in a white-knuckled grip, he twists to look behind himself, nearly falling off the step with how hard he jumps.

There on the other side of the glass is the merman, who remains completely still other than the occasional flick of his beautiful blue tail to stay upright. The creature floating there in the water is eerie in the vastness of the blue surrounding him. He understands now what Sapnap meant about his eyes. They look human. They look intelligent. Those dark brown eyes watch every move Dream makes as he eases off the ladder.

The merman's top half definitely looks human other than a few patches of blue scales scattered over his skin and the gills in his neck. Brown hair floats around his head, loose and soft-looking in the water. The tail is absolutely beautiful, shimmering in the light with each slight movement. It's sky blue and brilliant against the murky blue of the water.

Unconsciously, Dream had walked closer as he observed, mouth hanging open like an idiot. The merman remains still. As Dream takes the final step up to the glass, he starts to catch details that he couldn't see before. Scars cross his pale skin, silver lines that tell of violence. There are scars in his tail too, black lines where scales were ripped away. His hands are at Dream's eye level, so he finds himself looking at them the most and assigns them the descriptor of delicate. There’s a thin membrane that stretches between his fingers. His ribs stick out under his skin in a way that makes him look malnourished, but Dream isn’t sure if that might be how merpeople are supposed to look. The merman tilts his head and Dream's gaze snaps up to his face. His lips are full and his face is narrow, sharp jawline showing with the tilt of his head.

He knows he can't be heard through the water and glass if the merman could even understand him, but he mouths a, "Hello," anyway. He could swear the beginnings of a smile quirks the creature's lips and Dream grins. He lifts his hand and presses it to the glass. The merman stares at it. With a flash of blue scales, he's gone.

Dream goes about the rest of his duties, head full of his encounter with the merman. There's no way the creature isn't smart as hell. If Dream was stuck in that tank, he would hide all day and throw out his food too. He hopes he'll get to see him again.

"Guys," Dream says as he enters the security office to return his radio, "I saw the merman."

"Really?" Says Karl.

"Yeah, he was watching me replace a light. Sapnap, you were right. He looks really smart," he says, placing his key ring on the hook.

"It's freaky, right?" Asks Sapnap as he grabs his jacket.

"Yeah," says Dream, walking with his co-workers to the time clock. Karl brings up something else, but Dream is still thinking of the merman, wondering how much he might understand. They walk into the early morning light of the parking lot. "See you guys tonight," he says, waving a hand.

He dreams fitfully of the flash of blue scales and haunting dark eyes.

For days after that encounter, Dream keeps a hopeful eye out for the merman any time he's near the exhibit. But his excitement quickly dissipates as the creature remains elusive. He’s up on the employee decks above the aquariums pressure washing one night when something hits him in the back of the leg. He spins around, but there’s no one there. On the floor at his feet is a rotting fish head. “Ew…” He breathes, preparing to kick it back into the tank, but then he realizes that this is the merman exhibit. This fish was thrown at him on purpose. He drops to a crouch next to the water, peering into the depths in search of the thrower. He looks for a moment before spotting the merman, floating on his back a few yards down, staring unwaveringly up at him.

The sense that this is a test comes upon Dream and he glances at the fish head next to his foot. The merman swims closer. “You don’t like your food, do you?” Dream says. There probably aren’t very many studies out there on what merpeople eat. Eyes on the merman, Dream picks up the fish head. The creature watches his every move, frown tugging at his lips. Dream holds it up at eye level, looks between it and the merman, wonders what would happen if he throws it back in. He turns on his heel and takes it to a trash can, hearing the movement of the water behind him.

When he turns back around, he sees the merman has lifted himself up to watch Dream throw away the fish, expression looking more inquisitive than intimidating outside the tank. Dream grins and sits down in front of him, taking in the wet hair plastered to his cheeks and neck and the water droplets that roll off his shoulders.

“I’d have kicked it back into the shark tank, but not yours. It was gross,” he says, watching the merman’s face for signs of understanding. “I don’t even know if you understand me. What’s your name?” The merman cocks his head, gaze running over Dream and his work clothes, making him feel evaluated. He chuckles, “I feel like you’re testing me. I’ll have to go look at the information in the viewing area to learn your name, I guess.” The sound the merman makes then Dream could swear was a scoff.

He points over Dream’s shoulder and Dream turns his head to look. “Uh, I don’t know what you want.” He stands and walks over to it while the merman keeps pointing. He picks something up, “This?” He shakes his head. “This one?” He shakes his head again. “These?”

The merman grins with pointy teeth and nods, sending a shiver down Dream’s spine. He has a feeling this creature understands every word he says. He pulls the box of fish treats off the shelf. “I don’t know if I’m allowed to feed you.” He laughs when the merman rolls his eyes. “I mean, I’ve heard you throw out half your food, so you must be hungry.” He makes grabby hands for the box. “Alright.”

Dream walks back over to him and opens it up. The merman reaches up for it and Dream laughs, “Hang on, I’ll pour some in your hands. I have to put the box back.” The creature pouts and holds out his hands, body shifting side to side in the water as he keeps himself up with his tail. Dream pours a handful of the treats into his palms and laughs at the way his eyes widen. When Dream returns from putting the box back on the shelf, the merman is gone.

By the end of the night, Dream decides that he’s not going to tell Sapnap and Karl about this encounter. He’s pretty sure they won’t even believe him, but he also feels special. With all of the stories he’s heard about the reclusive merman, it feels like a blessing to be trusted enough by him to interact like that. On his rounds, he checks out the plaque in front of the exhibit and reads that the creature’s name is ‘Blueberry.’ It sounds childish and wrong for a creature with the level of intelligence Dream saw tonight.

Several days later, Dream has time to stop by the market before work. He buys a few filets of sushi-grade fish and smuggles them in his backpack into the building. When Sapnap and Karl are on their rounds, he takes his lunch break and retrieves the fish and his own meal, carrying them up to the top of the mermaid exhibit.

“Hey, Blueberry,” he says loudly, “I brought you something.” He sits cross-legged next to the tank and opens his food. “If that’s even your name,” he mumbles. When the merman doesn’t appear after fifteen minutes, he just throws the fish in, hoping he’ll find it and like it. He finishes his own food without an appearance from his new acquaintance.

Dream continues to wash off the deck around the merman’s tank a few days a week, getting rid of the stain of dead fish. He gets into the habit of bringing Blueberry something better to eat at least once a week and as much as his wallet can afford.

“I’ve heard the board of whatever over the aquarium is talking about getting rid of the merman,” Karl says one night as they’re clocking in.

“What?” asks Dream.

“Probably a drain on resources,” Sapnap says with a shrug.

“He still brings people in. People want to see a merman,” Dream says, putting down his backpack where several pieces of fish are hidden.

“I think word has gotten out that it’s a scam because he doesn’t swim around when people are here,” says Karl, passing out their radios.

“What would they do with him?” Dream asks, retrieving his sheet of repairs for the night.

“Send him to another aquarium, maybe? Send him to scientists? Somewhere else that will make money,” Sapnap says like he doesn’t care.

Dream scowls as he leaves the office to start his night’s work. “Damn people and their damn money.”

When he takes the merman his fish that night, he says to the surface of the water, “You might want to get a little more active, Blueberry, or something worse is going to happen to you.”

He sighs as he walks around the merman’s tank several days later. He’d really made a mess of it this time, fish guts and bones strewn all over the floor. Dream gets to work methodically mopping and pressure washing, thinking about his remaining tasks of the night.

“My name is not fucking Blueberry.”

Dream whirls around, dropping the hose and nearly tripping over the pressure washing machine as hot water sprays everywhere. He scrambles to turn it off without taking his eyes from the merman. He has his elbows propped on the edge of the tank and rests his chin on his knuckles, torso swaying slightly with the movements of his tail.

“Holy shit,” Dream clutches his chest as he sits down hard on the floor, “Oh my god, I can’t believe you can talk. You scared the shit out of me.”

The merman laughs, “I know. Because you’ve been calling me Blueberry.”

“Yeah, cause you wouldn’t tell me your name!” As his pulse slows, Dream shifts into a more comfortable sitting position.

“It’s George.”

It’s only then that Dream processes the accent. “Why are you British?”

“Die.”

“Huh?”

“Merpeople have accents just like humans, idiot,” George says with an eye roll and a laugh, “It’s not technically British British, but I am from the ocean around there.”

“Oh, that makes sense.”

“Alright,” George says, leaning back into the water.

“Wait, don’t leave!” Dream rushes to say, holding out a hand.

George laughs as he floats on his back, “I’m not leaving, just relaxing. What’s your name, human?”

“I’m Dream,” he says, almost sticking out his hand for a shake.

“What kind of name is that?”

Dream groans, “I never thought I’d have my nickname mocked by a merman. I don’t know, it started in middle school and never stopped so it almost feels like my actual name now.”

“Okay, Dream,” George grins, “Go ahead and ask all your burning questions.”

He leans back on his hands, casting his eyes toward the ceiling as he tries to figure out what he wants to ask first. He eventually decides on, “Why did you wait so long to show me you can talk?”

George sighs, “Starting with the tough ones. I only speak to people I trust.”

“You trust me?”

He smirks, “Almost. I tried pleading with the people who brought me here, but it didn’t matter. It’s easier to be treated like a dumb fish than to have intelligent conversation every day with people who still think I belong in a tank.”

“Well, shit,” Dream sighs with a frown, “I don’t think I can get you out of here. I’m just the maintenance guy.”

“I know.”

“Are all the scars from when you were captured?” Dream asks, voice lowering to near a whisper, unsure if it’s rude to ask the question.

“Most of them,” George says, hand lifting from the water to trace a jagged line that marks his shoulder.

“I’m sorry.”

“Not your fault. Next question.”

“Okay, why do you throw out your food?”

George laughs, “How would you like to have a bucket of shark bait dumped on you every day as your only food? It’s one of the ways I fight them.”

“Do you not eat fish?” Dream asks, scooting a little closer to the edge of the tank.

“Of course I do, but I’m not a damn shark. We eat fish much like humans do. We cook some, avoid some, and the fish like what you’ve been bringing me is good enough to eat raw.”

“I like it raw too,” Dream jokes with a snort, but George just stares at him in confusion. “Not your kind of joke, I guess?”

He decides George looks cute when he’s confused. “What did it mean?”

Dream exhales a laugh, cheeks reddening as he breaks eye contact, “I don’t think I want the first time I talk with a merman to involve me explaining a sex joke.”

“Oh,” George’s cheeks redden too, but he laughs, “Yeah, I’m not ready to hear about human sex, I’ve heard it’s gross.”

“What?” Dream laughs, “Okay, nevermind. How do you cook fish in the ocean?”

“Steam vents and stuff like that.”

“Ah, makes sense.” They fall into silence as Dream tries to come up with more questions. “I guess that’s all I’ve got.”

“Really? You talk to a creature that’s been mostly a myth for centuries and that’s all you’ve got?” George says with a grin.

“Wait, I did want to ask: why were you watching me the first night I saw you?”

A trace of color rushes to George’s cheeks, but he shrugs, “Gets boring in here.”

“Fair enough. I’m guessing you want to ask me something too?”

“Why did you start bringing me better food?”

“I don’t know,” Dream says honestly, picking at a scab on his hand, “I figured since you were making a statement with your food, you needed more to eat.”

“And you don’t throw the scraps back in my tank when you clean.”

Dream shrugs, “Figure you’d throw them right back out and they make your tank dirty. You breathe the water, so I assume you don’t want it dirty.”

Tilting his head to the side, George studies him like he has several times before and then says, “I didn’t know humans could be nice.”

Dream sighs and gestures to the large aquarium, “I didn’t think humans would be so cruel.” They stare at each other for a long moment and Dream gets lost in those dark eyes. They’re eyes that have seen things, that know a world he could never imagine. There’s some measure of defeat in them, but also a large measure of defiance.

“Sorry, I need to keep working,” Dream says, standing and stretching his legs. “You won’t give me the silent treatment anymore, will you?”

George grins, “No, now that you know I speak. I need to talk to somebody, it gets boring here.”

“Okay. See you tomorrow night, George,” Dream promises, already having in mind to stop by the market and get him some fish.

“Bye, Dream.”

Dream continues to smuggle fish into the aquarium and spends all of his lunches and breaks at the top of the merman exhibit. He learns about the life of merpeople and teaches George about some of the not-so-horrible things humans do.

“So there’s a whole cult about a princess mermaid movie?” George asks, floating lazily on his back and flicking up water with his tail.

“The cult part is the Disney people,” Dream clarifies, tracing his fingertips through some of the water that splashes up on the deck. “One of the movies is a mermaid movie, but it’s pretty old now. You know there are humans who pretend to be mermaids.”

George snorts, “That’s ridiculous. How could any human ever get their ugly, weird legs to work like a tail?”

Dream laughs, “I don’t know, they put on a thing that makes their legs look like a tail and they learn to hold their breath. That’s what I thought this mermaid exhibit was going to be before my first day.”

“Nope,” says the merman, dragging a hand over his ribs and down past where human torso becomes fish tail. “I’m the real thing. Unfortunately.” Dream’s eyes linger on his abdomen and the transition from pale skin to smooth blue scales. The desire to touch tingles at his fingertips. George is watching him. “Don’t look at me like that,” he says, voice low and almost a growl.

The human’s eyes snap to his face, “Like what?”

“Like I’m something for you to capture and study.”

“I-” Dream frowns as George shifts to an upright position, beautiful tail moving out of sight, “I wasn’t.”

“All humans look at me like that and think of me like that,” George says flatly. He seems angry, but he doesn’t leave.

“I don’t.”

“Then what were you thinking?”

Blood rushes to Dream’s cheeks and he breaks eye contact, gaze drifting over the paleness of his neck and shoulder. He wants to press kisses to the scar that marks the skin there. He shakes his head. “I was thinking that you’re beautiful.”

George’s expression remains hard and he narrows his eyes, “And you want to capture that beauty and keep it for yourself.”

He shakes his head, “No.” Skepticism paints George’s features. “I think you’d be more beautiful in the ocean. Going where you want. Not just a thing trapped here for people to ogle.” George’s eyes widen and a blush comes to his cheeks. “I know why you think all humans are the same. And humans can be really, really horrible. But some of us are different.”

George grins, lifting his arms onto the deck inches from Dream’s legs, lifting himself up closer to his face than he’s ever been. “Are you trying to tell me you’re different from everyone else, Dream? Are you going to be my savior?”

“I can’t make promises,” Dream says with a sigh, leaning in closer despite himself, “But I’m not like the people who put you here. I’m going to try and brainstorm a way to get you out.”

The merman holds his gaze for a long moment, dark eyes searching his for lies and false promises. He drops back into the water. “How far are we from the ocean?”

“About an hour and a half drive. I have to get back to work.”

“Bye, Dream.”

The human stands there, feeling a bit helpless before the vast murky blue aquarium with the merman who has too much hope in his eyes floating in the middle. “See you tomorrow, George.”

He does not, in fact, see George tomorrow. Dream wakes up with a fever that he learns a few days later is the flu. He’s out of work for a while and he uses every second to brainstorm.

The nearest beach that isn’t crawling with tourism is about a two hour drive from the aquarium. He figures that will be safest so that George can get out to the ocean without being caught again. But that’s about as far as he can plan before he runs into endless variables.

How long can George survive out of water? How does he get a whole-ass merman past security cameras and Sapnap and Karl? If George can’t survive out of water for two hours, how does he transport him in the first place? Is he seriously about to steal a merman?

His foggy brain has conjured question after question without answer for four days before Sapnap coaxes his address out of him over text. He and Karl appear on his doorstep about an hour before their shift and Dream greets them with a blanket around his shoulders. They brought soup from a cafe down the street and Dream’s gratitude pours at the same rate as his snotty nose. They sit across from him at the table while he eats and they talk about work. A question about how George is doing is on the tip of Dream’s tongue when Sapnap brings him up of his own volition.

“The merman’s aquarium deck is nasty without you there to clean it. The day staff says he’s been throwing a fit,” Sapnap says, spinning his phone on the surface of the table.

“Maybe there’s something wrong with his habitat,” Dream suggests. Maybe he shouldn’t be there.

The security guards move on from the subject pretty quickly. They’re standing at the door when Dream casually asks, “Have you heard any more about the board wanting to get rid of the merman?”

Karl shakes his head, “Not really, just that they’re deliberating. Trying to figure out how they can make the most money.”

With a glance at his watch, Sapnap says, “We better go.”

“Get better soon, Dream!”

“Thanks, guys. Have a good night at work.”

“See you, Dream.”

After shutting the door, he wraps his blanket tighter around himself, sits down at his computer, and plans harder.

It’s a few more days before he’s back at work again. Without even trying very hard to hide it from Sapnap and Karl, he grabs the package of fish from his bag and his list of jobs for tonight before heading straight to the merman exhibit.

“Dream!” George yells just before Dream is hit smack in the chest by a dead fish. “Where have you been?”

“Hey!” He responds, bending to pick up the rotting fish and tossing it in the trash. “I was sick, calm down.” He sits cross-legged in front of George who’s leaning up on the deck.

“Sick?” the merman asks with a tilt of his head.

“Yeah, I had the flu. Stuffy nose, fever, all of that.” He unwraps the fresh fish and hands it to an eager George.

“Must be a human thing,” he says between bites, “I thought you left me.”

“Nope, just sick. I did some planning, though.”

George’s eyes get big and he pauses in his ravenous eating to look up at the blond, “You have a plan?”

“Well,” Dream rubs the back of his neck, “The beginnings of one. I need you to answer some questions, though.”

“Okay,” George nods, licking his fingers and leaning back in the water, ”What do you need to know? I’ll tell you anything if it’s going to get me out of here.”

Dream rests his elbows on his knees and his chin on his knuckles, “Okay, um, how long can you survive outside of water?”

“Hm,” George rubs his chin, “About twenty minutes. Thirty is really pushing it.”

“Shit,” Dream breaths. “Do you need to go to a specific ocean or coast, or can I release you anywhere?”

“Where are we?”

“Florida, USA.”

George pulls a face, “Please just don’t put me in the Gulf. The Gulf’s a bitch.”

Dream laughs, “Don’t worry, we’re closer to the East coast. Do you have a family you’re trying to get back to?”

The merman’s expression grows distant, ”No.”

“Oh.” Dream watches him for a moment and decides not to ask.

George seems to come back to his sassy, nonchalant self, “Pretty low merpeople population, kind of a loner lifestyle.”

“That’s why you were myths for so long. You’re just hard to find.”

“Probably.” George proceeds to ask Dream more about the mythology surrounding merpeople and he tells him as much as he knows. Eventually, the human checks the time and announces that he has to go and work.

“Noooooo,” George whines with a teasing grin.

“I have to or they’ll fire me and you’ll never see me again except from the other side of a foot of glass. I’ll definitely be back because I need to pressure wash this area. I’ll see you tomorrow. Promise.”

George’s smile shifts and the joy fades from his eyes, “Don’t promise me things. See you tomorrow, Dream.”

“Goodbye, George.”

"Boss man is coming in an hour!" Karl announces while they're in the office after clocking in.

"Huh?" Asks Dream.

Sapnap leans over Karl's shoulder to look at the note, "Doesn't say why."

Dream picks up his list of tonight's repairs. "Maybe it's about this. I'm supposed to prepare for the replacement of a pump on one of the big tanks." George's tank, he realizes, because he has the numbers assigned to the equipment in that area memorized.

"If he's here for you, we'll radio," Sapnap says as he and Karl set off on their start-of-shift rounds.

He’s halfway through replacing a valve seal when Sapnap’s voice comes through the device on his hip. “Dream, you’re needed back at the security office.”

Finagling the valve he’s working on just right, Dream frees up a hand to answer. “I’ll be there in fifteen.”

After finishing the repair, Dream walks alone through the dark and quiet aquarium, a blue glow constantly cast over him from various angles. He doesn’t know what the boss wants from him, but he’s worried whatever is asked of him is going to be a confirmation that they’re getting rid of George.

“Good evening,” says a tall and broad dark-haired man when he walks into the office. “I’m Joseph Sellars.”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Dre- Clay,” he responds, taking his hand.

“Walk with me, Clay.”

The man takes him straight to where Dream suspected they’d be going and he doesn’t know whether to hope George shows up or pray that he doesn’t. “In three weeks we’re going to be transitioning this exhibit and we need the pumps up to date and everything clean. We’ll be completely changing out the water because the new habitat has to be fresh water.”

They walk around between pumps and filters with the older man listing off the things Dream will need to do. “Don’t worry, you’ll have a hard copy of all of it and you have three weeks to get it done along with your other work.”

Only once they’re back at the top of the tank does Dream ask, “What will happen to the merman?”

Joseph Sellars half scoffs, half laughs at the question, “If you even believe there’s a mermaid in there. I think the more touchy-feely members of the board have decided to sell it to some scientist. They can watch it in a tank or dissect it for all I care, but they’re paying a nice sum for it and we need a real exhibit here.”

“You don’t think he- it’s actually in there?” Dream asks, gazing into the hazy blue water.

“Who cares, it doesn’t show up to entertain customers, so it’s pretty much non-existent to me,” the man shrugs.

“Then what throws the fish out? I clean this deck every two days.”

Joseph Sellars gives him a look, but then he claps him on the shoulder, “Just do the job and you’ll be fine, kid.”

Dream’s hands clench into fists and he scowls as the man turns away.

“Your complete list of additional duties will be in the office for you tomorrow. Keep up the good work!” With the slam of a heavy door in a metal doorframe, he’s gone and Dream is left there trembling.

“Down, boy,” says a voice full of false humor behind him. Dream whips around to find George at the edge of the tank with his elbows propped on the side. “I don’t know if there’s much we can do. Maybe you can steal me during transport,” he sighs.

“I have to do something,” Dream says, sitting down in front of him and hitting a fist on the floor. “It will be impossible to get you out with other people around.”

“How’s that plan going?” George asks, voice bored as he drags a hand through the water.

“You don’t think I can do it,” Dream says flatly, huffing a breath out his nose.

George’s gaze flicks up to him, seeming surprised, “Not in three weeks, Dream. You only started talking about this a few days ago.”

“Buy me some time.”

George laughs incredulously, “How? I’m just a stupid fish stuck in this stupid tank.”

Dream sighs, scrubbing a hand over his cheek, “You’re gonna hate this.”

“I guess I told you I’d do anything,” George reminds him with half a grin.

“You have to put on a show for the customers.”

A sour look passes over his face and George lets out a long sigh, eyelids fluttering shut. “It’s humiliating,” he finally breathes, voice trembling like he wants to cry and Dream wishes he’d never asked.

“You don’t have to,” Dream says quietly.

“You know what the worst part is?” George says, looking up at him with big brown eyes. “I hate it here. I hate it so much I’ve tried to… you know, tried to make it all stop. I hate it here and I want out. But I don’t know if I want to go back to the ocean either. There’s nothing for me there except maybe freedom.”

Tears nearly well in Dream’s eyes because of his words and an idea comes to mind. He thinks of the digits in his bank account, thinks of personal plans he’s had for a year or so now, calls on his impulsivity and takes a deep breath. “I’ll move to the coast and be there with you.”

George tilts his head in that way of his and fixes his eyes on Dream’s face. “What?”

“I’ve been planning to move for a while now. I want a house instead of an apartment. Why not move to the coast.”

“Dream, please take this seriously,” George pleads, fingers gripping the edge of the tank.

“I am taking it seriously. I’m serious. I’ll move to a quiet area of beach and I can release you there and anytime you need company you can come see me.”

George studies him for several long minutes of silence. “So how are you going to get me there?”

“I don’t know yet, but I need time. And help.”

“What do you mean?”

“How would you feel about involving Sapnap and Karl?” Dream asks, fidgeting with his fingers.

“The security guards?”

“Yeah. I think I’m going to need their help to get you out of here,” Dream explains, watching his expression carefully.

“You trust them?” George asks, relaxing back into the water.

“Yeah, I do. They don’t talk about you the way everyone else does and they’ll be even better about it once they talk to you,” Dream says, shifting around to lay on his stomach and dip his fingers into the water.

George mulls it over. “Okay, if you think that’s our best chance of getting me out, then I can meet them. You just have to be really careful.” The merman looks him dead in the eye, “Be really careful not to mention the plans to anyone who will report us or anyone who will get the word out that I have the intelligence of a human.”

“I will. You have to trust me, George.”

He smiles a little, “I do. I just need you not to make promises above your capabilities.”

“I won’t. But I still need more than three weeks.”

George sighs and Dream’s stomach sinks, knowing he’s asking so much of George emotionally. He can’t imagine doing what he’s asking the merman to do, but they have limited options.

“I’ll do it,” George says, gaze cast towards the ceiling. He turns his head and his eyes meet Dream’s, “But I need you there.”

He sighs and rubs his hands over his face, “I have to sleep during the day, George.”

“Please,” George breathes, breaking their eye contact.

“Okay.” Dream pulls out his phone. “I have the night off in two days, so I can come watch on Thursday all day. And then maybe I can spare a couple of hours before my shifts in the evenings.”

George’s slender hand wraps around his wrist to get Dream’s attention, the cool touch and slick membrane between his fingers raising goose bumps on his arm. “Thank you,” he says, full of sincerity, eyes boring into Dream’s.

“We’re getting you out of here,” Dream says with conviction as George’s hand slips away. He misses the touch. Dream looks at the time, “I should go do some work so I can quit in good graces instead of getting fired.”

George laughs, “See you later, Dream.”

“Bye, George.”

“I, uh, forgot something,” Dream says, stopping in his tracks next to Karl and Sapnap as they’re walking to their cars after work. He rubs the back of his neck, awkward in his lie as he turns back, the urge to stop right there and explain the whole situation to them squeezing his chest.

“Okay, bye!” Karl says.

“See you, Dream!” Says Sapnap in turn.

He waves over his shoulder and then walks back into the aquarium. His journey carries him through the halls with the opening crowd and daytime workers. Thankfully, only a couple of them know him, so he shouldn’t be questioned today.

The familiar route takes him to the front of George’s tank. He prepares to settle on a bench in the observation area, but he hesitates, making the split second decision to go and talk to George first. He heads to the top of the huge tank through employees-only areas, only meeting a couple of people, stomach twisting each time with anxiety at the prospect of being stopped. Finally, he reaches the familiar deck around the top of the tank, saying carefully at speaking volume, “Hey, George.” He sits down at the edge to wait.

Several minutes later, George floats up to the top and yawns. “I’m sleepy,” he complains, “I usually sleep in the mornings.”

“Me too,” Dream reminds him with a small smile.

“I guess I said I’d entertain the people today. Buy the mastermind some time for his escape plan,” George says, resting on his back and flipping his tail to spray water over Dream.

“If you want to. You asked me to be here. How do you know when someone is up here, anyway?” asks the human, skimming his fingertips over the surface of the water.

“I think I can see a bit better than you can and I can hear everything in the water. I recognize your footsteps now.”

“Wow, that’s cool,” Dream grins.

“Not so cool when kids bang on the glass,” George says, features resigned and gaze cast towards the ceiling.

“It’s really going to help us if you do this. Do you want me to sit up here or out there?”

His head tilts and dark brown eyes study Dream, once again making him feel examined. “Out there,” George finally decides.

“Okay. I’ll be there. Might grab lunch at some point, but I’ll be there.”

George smiles, “I know you will. I’ll be able to see you.”

“Good luck.” Dream holds up a hand.

The merman stares at it, “What are you doing that for?”

Dream chuckles, “A high five.”

“What’s that?”

He laughs some more, “It’s where you hit your hand with another person’s like a sign of good luck or congratulations. It makes a sound and it’s satisfying.”

“Oh,” George says quietly, lifting his hand and hitting it against Dream’s, fingertips brushing down his palm.

Dream grins, “Yeah, but harder.”

George’s brow furrows, “But won’t that hurt?”

The human shrugs, “Just a little.” They try again and George gets it this time, laughing at the sound it makes. “What?” Dream asks.

“That’s so weird,” the merman says, “I guess merpeople don’t do it because it doesn’t make a sound under the water.”

“Oh,” Dream says, “That makes sense. Okay, I’m going to sit outside.”

George takes a deep breath, “Okay.”

“You’ll do great, George,” he says, just as the merman disappears below the water.

Dream positions himself on a bench that sits in the middle of the observation area, facing the murky blue vastness of George’s tank. Usually, he’d be falling asleep at this time, but right now he’s wide awake. He’s seen George more than anyone else. He’s seen him floating through the water while they talk or diving down after a piece of fish he dropped, but he’s never seen the merman show off. George doesn’t talk much about his time in the ocean, preferring to ask questions about humans or complain, rightfully, about his situation. Dream wants to see him do something he knows, something that comes naturally to him, or at least as natural as he can get while George is trapped here.

“You aren’t going to see it,” says a teenager who sits down next to him.

Dream glances over as they look down at their phone. “What makes you say that?”

They look between him and the glass before saying, “My family has season passes. None of us have seen it once.”

Shifting his gaze from them back to the tank, Dream asks, “Do you think there’s anything in there?”

They regard the blue expanse with a contemplative expression until they finally state, “Hope says yes, logic says no.”

Hope says yes, logic says no.

“Maybe today you’ll get lucky.”

They eye Dream like they want to ask where his confidence is coming from, but their phone vibrates, distracting them. Dream waits in silence and increasing boredom, exhaustion hovering behind his eyes. He resists the temptation to pull out his phone because he knows no notifications are waiting for him. The most interesting and important thing in his life is in front of him.

Just as he’s starting to think George decided not to do it, a child to his left gasps, “A mermaid!”

George swims gracefully into view, eyes scanning the room from the other side of the glass. His gaze locks with Dream’s as he reaches the middle and he smiles, just slightly. He leans back, arms above his head, and shows off his tail, flicking it just right so it catches the light as every person in the observation area turns to watch him. Dream can’t help but think the slight arch in his back is just for him.

“Wow,” breathes the teenager next to him, “We did get lucky today.”

Leaning his head back with eyes closed, George smiles and Dream smiles too, knowing he’s reveling in the attention for the moment. Soft brown hair floats around his head and his tail moves up and down slowly, pushing him backward. Smartphone cameras rise all around the room, but Dream’s eyes are glued to George. Once the merman reaches the far edge of the tank, he sits up and swims forward, twisting gracefully and showing off the ease with which he swims. George makes eye contact with him again when he reaches the center and Dream snaps his mouth shut, not thinking fast enough to give a signal of encouragement before the merman is moving away again, this time looking like he’s laughing to himself.

As promised, George performs, and Dream sits there hour after hour, enraptured. Most of the patrons leave after ten or fifteen minutes of watching. A few who have been here before understand how rare it is to see the merman active, so they stay a bit longer.

George watches as the last patron in the room exits, sometime in the afternoon. He swims up to the glass and presses his hand to it, watching and waiting for Dream. It takes the human a moment to remember that this magnificent creature is communicating with him and that he’s not just something to watch. Dream jumps up off of the bench and walks up to the glass while George laughs at him. He raises his hand up to meet George’s through the barrier and the merman smiles, leaning his forehead against it. Grinning up at him, Dream tries to convey through his expression all the encouragement he can.

Head jerking back to look at the water above him, George stares up at what Dream knows is the opening at the top of the aquarium and he figures someone is up there. Something like a sigh heaves George’s shoulders and he rolls his eyes at Dream before swimming away with a swish of his tail.

Standing there alone with his hand still pressed to the glass, Dream lets his forehead drop against it. He sighs as he remembers that the whole point of this is to get George out and set him free. Even though the merman complains of loneliness in the ocean, Dream knows he’ll never see George again after the day they release him. A selfish part of him screams for him to let the plans fall through so he can sit here forever and watch the merman’s graceful movements in the water. But he knows he could never go through with that. The longing with which George talks of freedom drives him towards his goal. Any time George hesitates or loses heart, Dream assures him that he’s moving to the coast, that he’ll be there if he needs him, and reminds him that a decision to give up and stay here equals death. They’re too far in for Dream to stop for any reason short of getting arrested.

George returns, interrupting his thoughts. He holds up a piece of gross looking fish and scoffs dramatically. Dream laughs, pointing to himself to try and assure George that he’ll bring better food when he can.

Voices come from the hall and Dream steps quickly back from the glass, remembering George’s warnings. He opens his mouth to explain his actions when he looks up and sees how hurt George is, but then the merman sees the people round the corner and nods once. As Dream returns to his bench, George begins performing once more.

A few minutes before closing, Dream leaves his post and makes the trek to the top of George’s tank. The merman is waiting for him there, arms resting on the deck and smiling at Dream as he walks over. “How did I do, boss?” George asks when Dream sits down in front of him.

He laughs, “Don’t call me that. You did good, George, thank you. I already heard patrons talking about it, so hopefully the news that you’re doing stuff will reach the people at the top.”

“And we’ll get more than three weeks,” George sums up. He smirks, “If everyone is as impressed as you were, then we’ll have plenty of time.”

Dream goes red and looks away, “It just looks really… beautiful.”

“It?”

Dream’s gaze snaps back to him, “You.”

George laughs, “Are you calling me beautiful?”

Swallowing down his embarrassment, Dream says sincerely, “Yes. You’re beautiful, especially when you’re swimming like that.”

It’s George’s turn to blush and he sinks a little lower in the water. “You look tired, Dream, go home and get some sleep.”

The human doesn’t move a muscle. “On my next day off, I’m going to look at some houses on the beach.” He shifts around to lay on his stomach so he’s almost eye-to-eye with George.

He grins, “Does it have a guest bedroom so I can visit?”

“I’ll probably just get one bedroom, but the whole point of the beach part is so you can visit, idiot,” Dream says, skimming his fingertips over the water. The main aquarium lights shut off around them, leaving them in the dim lighting of nighttime.

“I know, I know. I’ve heard human beds are nice, though,” the merman says, “I’ll just sleep in your bed.”

Dream scoffs and laughs, “You can only be out of the water for twenty minutes. What’s the point of trying a bed anyways?”

“Stop ruining the joke,” George pouts, leaning back in the water. In silence, they listen to the bubbling of the water and the distant sounds of pumps and pipes. “What if I just became human?” George asks quietly enough that Dream nearly misses it.

“What do you mean?” Dream asks, “How?”

The merman shrugs, “If there are merpeople, there’s probably magic or something, right? Maybe there’s a way to make me human.”

“Why would you want to be human?” Dream asks with a yawn.

“It’s…” George’s eyes search the high ceiling for answers it doesn’t have, “Humans have communities. When it comes to living and existing in the ocean, merpeople behave more like the part of us that is sea creature than the part that is human. We’re loners. There are some cities that provide structure, but it’s nothing like what you talk about.”

“It’s not all good,” Dream responds, “We fight and hate each other too. Some people are loners. But I think humans are very social. We need other people to survive; there have been studies on that.”

George nods, “That’s what I’m talking about. Merpeople don’t. We don’t care enough to create communities. And we also don’t care enough to hate each other. We’re almost the same as sharks when it comes to that. I mean, even some dolphin pods are closer knit than merpeople.”

Watching him stare at the ceiling, Dream’s chest fills with hurt for his friend. “You don’t have to be alone anymore. I don’t know about making you human, but we can hang out on the beach all the time.”

With a smile, George says, “Thanks, Dream.” He rubs his eyes, “You should go home and sleep.”

Dream groans, cheek dropping to his arm where it rests on the deck, “I don’t want to get up.”

“You can’t stay here.”

“Yeah I can,” Dream says with a tired chuckle, “No one is supposed to come in here again until morning. I could leave before then.”

The merman rolls his eyes, “Surely that’s not comfortable.”

Dream shifts around on the floor, “It’s not that bad.” He lifts his head, “Wait, how do you sleep anyway?”

George laughs, “I just float. In the ocean we tie ourselves down with something so we don’t float too far away, but in here the water is still enough that I just float.”

“Oh,” Dream says as he lays his head back down with a yawn. “Makes sense.” He sticks his hand in the water, weakly reaching for George as his eyelids droop. “Don’t float away from me.”

George laughs softly, “I won’t.” Slick, cool fingers wrap around Dream’s.

“G’night, George,” Dream mumbles, exhaustion finally overtaking him.

“Goodnight, Dream.”

"Dream. Dream, wake up." Cold fingertips tap against his cheek, leaving a couple droplets of water that roll down his jaw.

"Hm?" He tries to push himself up with his hand, but his palm just splashes into water. "What the fuck?" He opens his eyes and remembers where he is, his first sight of the day being a giggling George.

"The aquarium opens soon. You have to go," George tells him with a fond smile.

"Oh," Dream rubs his eyes with a yawn, "Did you sleep okay?"

George tilts his head, "I guess so. Why is your voice deeper?"

Chuckling, Dream says, "That just happens to humans after sleeping. I don't know why." He pushes himself back from the tank and sits up, groaning as his joints pop from sleeping on the floor.

"Go sleep in your bed, Dream, I'll see you tonight," the merman says, fingers tapping on the edge of the deck as he watches Dream wake up.

The human stares at him for a long moment, something tugging in his chest and making him want to stay, even though his headache and growling stomach tell him otherwise. "Okay, I'll bring you some fish." He heaves himself off the floor and stretches. "Bye, George."

"See you later."

Dream drives home in a groggy haze and their conversation from last night comes back to him. Unable to get it off his mind all through his meal, when Dream lays down in bed he starts googling. There's not much at first, but he follows some sketchy links and searches dysfunctional websites until he has a few emails and phone numbers.

Once George is back in the ocean, Dream doubts his wish to be human will stick around, but he saves the information in his notes app anyway. As he falls asleep, he thinks about George longing for the comfort of a human bed.

They develop a new routine that includes Dream coming early to work so he can watch George show off to the patrons. On the majority of his days off, Dream spends hours before the merman's tank, just watching. The first time isn't the only time he falls asleep at the aquarium. Even though George faithfully insists that he goes home to sleep, they end up drifting off with hands intertwined anyway.

News of the merman becoming an actual attraction at last spreads quickly. Dream is sitting on his bench when several official-looking people come to observe George. When the merman notices, he performs a series of especially impressive flips that make Dream grin. The higher-ups hardly change expressions.

The same day that Dream puts a down payment on a house, he sits down for his lunch break with Sapnap and Karl, preparing to be humiliated. They greet him happily because eating together is unusual. Karl animatedly tells a story about something that happened to him earlier, but Dream is hardly listening because he's trying to figure out how to word what he wants to say.

During a lapse in conversation, he clears his throat. "Okay, this is going to sound completely insane, but I'd appreciate it if you'd hear me out."

Sapnap grins like a madman, "All the best stuff starts with that sentence."

Dream laughs, "How about this: The merman is just as intelligent as us."

"Seriously?"

"What?"

Dream nods, "He speaks English. Obviously, he doesn't want to be trapped in that tank. It'd be like one of us being confined to an apartment without windows for our whole lives. I need you guys to help me get him out."

"Let me get this straight," Sapnap says, pushing his trash to the side, "You've been talking to the merman and making plans to bust him out?"

"You do sound insane," Karl says with a giggle, "Can we go meet him?"

"Yeah, let's go."

Their chairs scrape against the tile as Sapnap announces, "This has to be a prank, I'm calling it right now."

"My life would be much less complicated if it were a prank," Dream says.

They make their way up to the top of the exhibit and the moment Dream opens the door, he hears a splash before George shouts, "I'm tired of being a freaking show dolphin, Dream, please tell me the plans are coming along."

"What the fuck."

"Holy shit."

George grabs the edge of the deck and pulls himself up to see them, gaze going between the two security guards before it lands on Dream and he frowns, "I didn't know I was meeting them today."

"Sorry, I didn't get a chance to warn you. Sapnap and Karl, meet George."

The security guards look at each other then back at the merman. "Well," Sapnap says, breaking the tense silence, "I guess it's not a prank."

Karl laughs and the three of them walk closer, sitting on the floor. "Sap, you were right that he's smart, you just didn't know how smart."

George points at Sapnap, "I almost talked to you once or twice, but you aren't up here much."

"Really? Damn you, Dream."

The blond laughs and shrugs, "Sorry? Alright, let me tell you my general plan so we can see where you guys can help." Dream walks them through his plan to sneak George out on a night they're all working. He'll make a makeshift pool in the back of a rented U-Haul and drive George to the coast.

"What is a U-Haul?" George interrupts.

"You don't know what a U-Haul is?" Sapnap asks.

"I've lived in the ocean until now, Sapanp," George deadpans.

Dream laughs, "It's a place that rents out trucks. I can get one that's big enough to build a small pool in."

"Okay, what are you going to do about the security cameras?" Karl asks.

"I… was hoping you guys could help with that?" Dream says.

"I can look at it," Sapnap answers, "I think two people should go in the U-Haul. One can drive and one can stay in the back with George because something could go wrong with the water on a two hour drive."

"Good idea," George pipes up, "That's going to be a cramped drive."

"It's our best bet," Dream says, leaning to put his hand in the water. "I'm going to put in my two weeks so that the night of the escape is my last night."

"Will you have the house by then?" George asks, fingers brushing Dream's in the water.

"Yeah and I can get moved before."

"Do we need to quit too?" Karl asks.

"Not necessarily," Dream says, thoughtful. "If you do, we shouldn't all quit at the same time. I don't know how likely it is for us to get caught."

"Depends on what we figure out with the cameras," says Sapnap.

“They won’t figure it out very quickly,” George points out, “Since I have a history of hiding, they won’t start looking for me for a few days at least.”

“Oh, you’re right,” Karl says.

“I’m glad to have you guys in on it,” Dream says, turning to Sapnap and Karl. “And you’ll figure out something with the cameras?”

“Yeah,” Sapnap replies, “I have an idea.”

The security guards stand up. “So we just made friends with a merman,” Karl says with a grin.

“And made escape plans with him for half an hour,” Sapnap adds.

“Thank you for agreeing to this,” Dream says, standing also, “I know we’re asking you to put your jobs on the line.”

“We couldn’t not agree,” Sapnap says, gesturing to George, “He doesn’t deserve to be stuck in here.”

“Thank you,” George says quietly.

“See you when we clock out,” Dream says to their backs before sitting back down with George.

“You said you were going to buy the house today,” George says once the door slams shut.

“Yeah,” Dream says with a grin, “I love it. It’s not very big and it’s right on the beach. I think I technically share the beach with my neighbors, but otherwise it’s private.”

“Any good laying rocks?” George asks as he relaxes on his back.

“Huh?”

“Are there any good rocks to lay in the sun on?”

“Oh,” Dream laughs, “Yeah, I think there are some spots. What, are you a cat?”

“No,” George scoffs, “It’s not like we’ve developed underwater cell phones. My past times in the ocean include swimming, eating, and sunbathing. Besides, my tail looks best in the sun.”

“Ooh, I bet it does.”

“Simp.”

“Hey,” Dream frowns, laying on his stomach next to the tank, “It’s not every day you become friends with someone you were told was a myth for your whole life.”

George sits up and grabs the edge of the deck, bringing his face close to Dream’s. “Do you surf?”

He laughs at the abrupt question, “I used to. When I moved inland I got rid of my board, but I need to get a new one since I’m moving again.”

The merman grins, “I used to always watch the surfers. That’s probably how I got trapped, actually.”

Dream smiles, “Well, you can watch the surfers again. But be more careful.”

“You can surf and I’ll swim in your wave.”

“Okay,” Dream says, just above a whisper, gaze dragging over the merman’s all-too-human face.

“Don’t look at me like that,” George says quietly, his eyes roaming over Dream’s features in turn.

“Like what?” he asks, white-knuckling the edge of the deck the same way George is.

“Like I can be something to you that only a human can.”

Dream sighs, eyes fixing helplessly on his lips, “Don’t discount yourself George. Besides,” he glances up to look into those deep brown eyes, “You’d be surprised at the way humans can connect with anything. The way we can love anything.”

“Simp,” George breathes, all the teasing gone out of the word now.

“Maybe I am,” Dream says with a soft laugh. Then they’re leaning and Dream’s eyelids are drooping and he can feel George’s breath on his lips. And George is gone, having let go of the deck and dropped back into the water. Dream can see his shoulders heave with quick breaths, a pretty red flush in his cheeks. “Sorry,” Dream breathes.

George shakes his head. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Dream,” he says levelly.

“Bye, George.”

He walks back through the aquarium, trying to get his head back on straight after that encounter. So much has happened today. Going through his list of tasks in his head, Dream pulls open the door of a storage closet. Apparently, today is not done being eventful.

Inside the closet, Sapnap is stumbling back from Karl who had been pushed against the shelves. Both are breathless and wide eyed with swollen lips as Dream stares between the two of them.

“You two- seriously?” Dream shouts through his laughter at the beet-red faces of his co-workers.

“You’re in love with a merman!” Karl accuses.

“What! No!”

“Come on now, Dream,” says Sapnap.

The blond shrugs, “Call it even?”

“Even?” Sapnap scoffs, taking Karl’s hand as they step out of the closet, “A merman, Dream?”

“Oh my god,” Dream groans, dragging a hand over his face and stepping out of the couple’s way. “It’s… I don’t know, you know what, I don’t have a defense. How long have you been together? How oblivious have I been?”

“A little over a month,” Sapnap answers, sending a fond glance Karl’s way.

“It’s okay you were oblivious, Dream, you’re too busy living out The Shape of Water,” Karl says with an innocent grin and Sapnap snorts a laugh.

Dream rolls his eyes, “Go away, I have work to do.”

“You have more work to do at the merman exhibit?” Karl teases as Sapnap pulls him away.

“You have more security to perform in a closet?” Dream bites back as they walk away, earning a hearty laugh.

Before Dream knows it, he’s turning in his two weeks and moving things to his new house when he gets a few spare hours. George continues to perform for patrons and Dream can’t help but snicker when he sees new customized merman merchandise in the gift shop. He wants these selfish people to waste as much money as possible.

Once most of his stuff is in his new house, Dream starts building a makeshift pool in the U-Haul he’s rented using tarps, wood, and duct tape. It’s not going to be water-tight, but all he needs is for it to hold enough water for George to survive the almost-two hour drive.

He buys fish on the way to work and stops Sapnap and Karl before they can make their first round after clocking in. “Have you figured out anything we can do about the cameras?”

“We messed around with them a few nights ago,” Sapnap says, “And I found a glitch that basically pauses them without showing that they’re paused.”

“It’s perfect,” Karl adds, “I can take my lunch break late and you guys can clock out so there’s an explanation for no one being on the cameras. We’ll get George to the truck and then I can come back from lunch and nothing happened on record.”

“Alright, we’ll work on a timetable the night before to make sure we’re in the right place at the right time. I mentioned in my two week’s notice that I’m moving, so it shouldn’t be too suspicious if anyone sees me driving a U-Haul to work,” Dream says.

“And, break,” Sapnap says with a laugh as they go their separate ways.

“Dream!” George says when he’s only a few steps into the room, “You won’t believe this.”

Dream grins, sitting in front of him and digging the fish out of his backpack, “What?”

“They brought in a dolphin trainer to try and work with me today.”

The human laughs, “And how did that go?”

George laughs too, “It was entertaining for me, horrible for her. I think she could sort of tell I could understand her, but I wouldn’t respond to anything correctly. When I started doing exactly the opposite of what she wanted, I think she caught on. She went home with pieces of fish in her hair.”

“George!”

“She was talking to me like I was a child!”

“Okay, I guess she deserved it. Come on, though, she didn’t really know,” Dream says, handing him some of the good fish. George just shrugs as he devours his meal.

“How long until escape night?” George asks, licking his fingers.

“Five days,” Dream says, “I almost have the pool in the U-Haul figured out. I’m nervous.”

“Me too,” George admits, “What’s the worst that could happen?”

“Sapnap and I are arrested and you get caught again and sold to be dissected.”

George pulls a face, “Maybe I shouldn’t have asked that one. Best case?”

“The plan goes flawlessly and you get freed into the ocean.”

“Let’s do that one.”

Dream laughs, “I agree. You can probably stop performing as much, sort of taper off so they’ll be less suspicious when you disappear. Maybe they’ll chock it up to merperson active season or something.”

“Hey, Dream,” comes Karl’s voice through the radio.

“Go ahead.”

“Boss man is here.”

“Oh shit,” Dream breathes. He says into the radio, “I’ll be there soon. Bye, George.”

“Good luck, Dream, see you later.”

As Dream walks, he thinks over any possible way their plan could have gotten out. He hadn’t said anything and neither had George. He trusts Sapnap and Karl completely and they’d never talked about the plan where they could have possibly been overhead. Joseph Sellars is waiting for him in the security office. The man claps him on the shoulder, “Good to see you again, son. I know we put a hold on the changes a couple weeks back, but can you show me the work you’ve done on the machinery at the mermaid exhibit.”

“Sure,” is all Dream can make himself say. As they walk, he manages to voice the question, “Are they still planning on moving the merman?”

Joseph Sellars nods, “We’ve gotten an even better offer from a bigger aquarium. They’ve built a tank that won’t allow the bugger to hide so much.” Dream’s stomach clenches. “Problem is, one of their conditions was that they get the thing immediately.”

“What do you mean?” They walk up the steps to the top of the tank.

“They’ll be moving it in two days.”

Dream barely manages to keep walking. His brain is racing as he shows Joseph Sellars the things he’s done so far. He’s hardly listening to an overview of his new duties and he stands still in the security office after the man leaves. Karl stands in front of him and it takes Dream a moment to focus on his face. “What’s wrong?”

“We have to get George out tomorrow night.”

“What?” Sapnap yells from his seat at the computer.

“They sold him to another aquarium and the boss said they’re moving him in two days.”

“What?” Karl asks this time.

“Can we do it?” Dream asks, rubbing his eyes.

“We have to try, don’t we?” Sapnap says.

Hope says yes, logic says no.

“We have to try.”

George is waiting for him when he goes to tell him, chin resting on his arms on the deck, looking glum. Dream points at him as he walks up, “Don’t be looking like that. I assume you heard Joseph Sellars.”

“You mean the idiot who only cares about money? Yeah, I heard him,” George says, nose wrinkling with disgust.

“It’s fine, George,” Dream tries to calm him, “We’ll do it tomorrow night instead.”

“I thought you weren’t done with the truck yet.”

“I’m not, but I can finish it when I get off work. It’s going to be okay,” the human says, getting down to be on eye level with him.

“You won’t get sleep,” George points out.

“I’ll be fine.”

“It’s not going to work.”

Dream sighs, annoyed now, “What other choice do we have, George?”

“Give up,” the merman says, discouraging attitude not budging an inch, “Because if we go through with it while you’re unprepared, you get arrested and I die to a scalpel or in captivity. I’d rather go through with my miserable death than live knowing I ruined your life.”

Dream’s fingers twitch with the urge to touch the creature before him. “You forget I’m human, George.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“We don’t give up, especially if we care. And I care so much about you. Maybe you couldn’t live with yourself if you got me arrested, but I would never have a clear conscience again if I had to live knowing I didn’t do every possible thing I could to set you free. We’re going through with the plan tomorrow night.”

George sinks down in the water so that most of his face is covered. A couple of silvery air bubbles escape his nose and gills. His eyelids flutter shut as he digests Dream’s speech. When he finally comes up again, he says quietly, “Okay.”

“If that’s what you want,” Dream belatedly tacks on.

George laughs, “If you think it’s possible, then of course I want to get out of here.” His eyes search the ceiling as he says, “I think I’m just not used to this level of… caring.” His gaze falls to meet Dream’s green eyes, “Or attachment.”

The blond chuckles, “To be fair, I do it a bit more intensely than most humans.”

“What do you mean?”

“I have a condition called ADHD that means a lot of things, but one of them is that I tend to be pretty intense and impulsive.”

George grins, “That makes sense.”

Dream rolls his eyes, “Yeah, yeah. Okay, I have to go get some work done. I’ll see you tomorrow to get you out of here.”

He leans back and flicks his tail in the light as Dream stands and stretches. “See you tomorrow for the prison break, Dream.”

Dream gets exactly no sleep the next day. He spends the whole of it packing the remainder of his apartment and building a makeshift pool in the back of a U-Haul. It goes… badly, to say the least. Wood and tarps are surprisingly difficult to maneuver the way you want them, especially when you have a quarter of the time you thought you’d have. Once he finally gets it to hold water, he’s running late for work.

“We good to go?” Dream asks the moment he enters the security office.

“Yeah,” Sapnap confirms.

“What’s our timetable?” Karl asks.

“Meet me at George’s tank at 4 a.m. I’ll have the truck ready outside the nearest door. Sapnap, you should already be clocked out and Karl you can take your lunch break right before you come to meet me. We’ll get him down to the truck and after we leave, Karl you can come straight back here to unpause the cameras. We want them paused as little as possible so we don’t create suspicion,” Dream explains, ruffling through his backpack to make sure he has everything he needs.

“Sounds good. 4 a.m.,” Karl confirms.

“Okay, I’m gonna go pretend to work.” If anyone looks at the camera footage closely, they’ll easily be able to tell that Dream could hardly focus on getting from one place to another, let alone completing any maintenance tasks. He refrains from going to see George because he knows it will make him even more nervous. Checking the time obsessively, Dream counts down the seconds until he needs to go get the truck situated.

At 3:30am, he retrieves his keys and moves the truck. Thankfully, there is still water in the pool as planned. He moves it to the door closest to George’s tank and then finally goes to talk to the merman.

“You’re nervous,” George says the moment Dream walks in.

“You’re not?”

“I’m excited, I’m finally getting out of here. It’s overshadowing the nerves right now,” George says, fingers tapping on the edge of the deck.

“Sapnap and Karl should be here any minute,” Dream says, sitting with him and joining him in tapping his fingers on the floor.

“How are you going to move me?”

The human shrugs, “I’ll just carry you.”

“I know I’m not huge, but this tail isn’t light,” George warns.

Dream shrugs, “It’ll be fine.”

“Alright, let’s do this!” Karl says when they come in, clapping his hands together.

“Breaking a merman out of prison,” Sapnap adds.

“Are all the cameras paused?” Dream asks as he stands.

“Yep.”

“Looks as clean as we could get it,” Sapnap promises.

“Let’s do this!” says George with a lopsided grin. He takes a deep breath and pushes himself up onto the deck as much as he can. Sapnap and Dream take it from there, grabbing him under the arms and pulling.

“Fuck, you’re slippery,” Sapnap grunts, tightening his grip.

“I’m a fucking sea creature, you idiot. My skin doesn’t get all pruney like yours,” George snaps. “Ouch,” he breathes when the two men let go of him once he’s fully on the deck.

“You okay?” Dream asks.

“Yeah. Please get me to water, though, my lungs are going to start hurting here in a minute.”

“Okay, ready?” Dream crouches next to him and prepares to pick him up.

“Ready.”

The human scoops him up bridal style, palms solid against his ribs and the side of his tail. “Damn, you are slippery,” Dream laughs as he adjusts, carrying him down the stairs.

George hangs onto his neck for dear life, eyes squeezed shut. “Shut up about my slippery-ness, I feel like I’m going to die.”

“I’ve got you.” The conversation is purely utilitarian from then on. Dream tightens his grip, stepping intentionally and carefully as George’s breaths become shorter and more labored. Karl and Sapnap open doors for them, prepared to jump into action if Dream asks.

They finally reach the U-Haul, and with the bit of strength he has left, Dream lifts George high enough to grab the edge of the makeshift pool and heave himself in.

“Alright, Dream, you’re riding with him, right?” Sapnap asks, grabbing the keys.

“Um… yes.” He looks into the back of the truck that is occupied completely by the pool. “I forgot about that part. You have the address?” He pats his pockets and hands everything over to Sapnap for dry keeping.

“Yeah.” Sapnap turns to Karl and gives him a kiss before saying, “Hard part’s done. Unpause the cameras once we’re gone. We’re headed for the Atlantic.”

Dream laughs and climbs up into the U-Haul, “Let’s get going. Close it up, Karl.” He draws in a deep breath and then gets into the pool, careful of the dark shape of George whose head is underwater. “Fuck, it’s cold!”

“Good luck!” Karl says before he slams the door down and latches it.

Until he can tell they’re on the interstate, Dream says nothing. He sits in the water in all of his clothes, feeling insane and alive. But worry creeps in on his adrenaline the longer George stays silent and he can’t really tell where he is in the darkness except when they’re jostled by a bump in the road. Finally, he says, “George, you okay?”

“My chest hurts,” he answers, voice raspy and coming from the right corner of the pool.

Dream tries to squint at him through the darkness, “I’m sorry. Were you out too long?”

“Just a little. I’ll be fine once I’m in the ocean for a few minutes.” The human hears him duck back under the water. “This water is trash, by the way.”

Dream laughs, “Well, it’s hose water from Florida, so I don’t know what to tell you.”

George sighs, “I guess it will keep me alive. I am cold though.”

“Me too, I didn’t realize how cold it’d be. Too bad you’re not a penguin.”

“What?”

“Penguins huddle for warmth,” Dream says with a giggle.

“We could still huddle,” George offers, unsurety accompanying the smirk in his voice.

Dream rests his arm on the edge of the pool and says, “Then come here.”

With a bit of fumbling, maneuvering, and laughter, George tucks himself under Dream’s arm and huddles into his side, shoulders shaking with shivers.

“Shit, I didn’t realize you'd be that cold,” Dream says, pulling him closer.

“Guess I got used to my climate controlled environment.”

“True,” Dream says, fingertips tapping against the merman’s shoulder, “You’ll have to get used to the ocean again. Are you glad to be out?”

“Of course,” George says, leaning his head against Dream’s shoulder.

“Almost to freedom.”

“I can finally actually touch you,” George says quietly. He turns in toward Dream and his arm finds its way around the human's middle. “Are all humans as warm as you?”

Dream chuckles fondly, “I don’t know, I’ve always been told I run hot.” George tucks his nose into Dream’s collar bone and they fall silent.

After a few minutes, George sinks lower in the water, presumably to breathe, but he stays low, other arm moving to wrap around Dream too. The human shifts down, shivering as the water touches parts of him that were previously dry.

“Humans are shaped weird,” George mumbles into the damp shirt against his ribs.

“I could say the same about you,” Dream laughs.

“Do that again.”

“What?”

“Laugh. I can feel your laugh all over you.”

He laughs again, “That’s not unique to humans.”

“But it’s you. I’m afraid I won’t ever be this close to… a human again.” The statement hangs in the dark air, buzzing in their ears.

“Want to know what a teenager said to me about seeing you back at the aquarium the first day you performed?” Dream says, breaking the silence. “They said, ‘Hope says yes, logic says no.’ We have to hope, George.”

“Okay,” he murmurs, “But still.” Dream can feel the merman look up at him even though he can’t look into the depths of those dark eyes. “Touch me now.”

Dream sucks in a breath and carefully drags his hand down from George’s shoulder. His palm slides down his spine, merman’s skin slick, but he can still feel the bumps of scars under his fingers. His hand travels down until he’s feeling scales and he stops at George’s hip, thumb rubbing over the smooth texture he’s never felt before. Wordlessly, his hand travels back up, arm reaching most of the way around George’s torso now to take his palm up his ribs. He holds him like that, fingertips absentmindedly tracing patterns into his skin.

The merman has practically melted against him, head resting on Dream’s chest now as water laps at George’s neck. The human’s hand drags up from George’s side and slides into his hair. It’s not as soft as it looks in the water, but the strands are fine and George nearly purrs when he cards his fingers through it, so Dream doesn’t stop. They lay like that for a long time, embracing and feeling each other, scared of letting go, scared of the moment they’re forced to.

“Dream,” George says after a while, voice still hoarse and now laden with grogginess.

“Yeah?” Dream answers, just as sleepy.

“The water is leaking.”

“What?”

“Water is leaking out,” George says, sitting up.

“Oh, shit,” Dream breathes, “How much?”

“Too much.”

“Can you tell where?” George’s hand wraps around his wrist and guides his fingers to a rip in one of the tarps. “Damnit. How did you know? Can you see that?”

“I can see a little,” George says and Dream can feel him shrug, “I think my eyes are better than yours. But also, I was laying in the still, but my gills were no longer getting water.”

“Shit,” Dream sighs, “Shit, shit, shit.”

George’s hand stays on his, “How much longer do you think we have to drive?”

“Probably about an hour,” Dream says, “Here.” He pulls off his shirt and stuffs it over the hole.

“If I’d known this would be the result, I’d have made up a leak a long time ago,” George teases, hand dragging down Dream’s chest in the dark.

“Shut up. The fact that I can’t see anything is making you too bold. How bad is it now?”

George ducks under the water. “We're losing a lot less water now,” he announces when he surfaces, “But it still might get a little sticky later. We just need to be careful not to let it rip anymore.”

“Okay.” Silence reigns for a moment aside from the slosh of the water. “Now I’m cold too.”

The merman laughs, turning and placing himself on top of Dream without warning, putting them chest to chest. The blond scoots down so that George can get water when he needs it and wraps his arms around the merman’s back. The heavy tail rests between his legs and George’s face is tucked into Dream’s neck.

“This would be more fun in a hot tub,” Dream says.

“I don’t know what a hot tub is,” George says, voice muffled by Dream’s skin, “But I say no.”

“What? Why?”

“Hot water? No thank you.”

Dream laughs, “Noted.” He runs his hands up and down George’s back, rubbing circles with his fingertips into the place where scales become skin. They doze together, the slosh of the water and the white noise of tires on asphalt making it easy to drift in and out of sleep.

It feels like a fever dream, having a merman cuddle with him in the dark. Except for when sleep truly overtakes him, Dream's hands don't stop moving. He touches George like he asked, trying to show how much he cares, trying to show that all of this was worth it, even if he never sees the merman again.

“Dream.” George coughs and it turns into a wheeze, “Dream, the water is low.”

He wakes up faster this time, taking George by the hips and lifting him off so that he’s on his back in the water and almost completely submerged. Dream reaches for the corner with the tear and feels where the shirt has come loose, so he shoves it back in to slow the leakage.

“Fuck, George, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” the merman says before dissolving into a coughing fit and dipping back under the water.

“I don’t know how long we have left to drive since I fell asleep.”

“I’d rather die in an attempt to escape than alone in that stupid aquarium,” George tells him before resubmerging.

“I’d rather you not die at all. Hopefully we’re close,” says Dream, readjusting the shirt. Neither of them say much as the water dwindles and the drive goes on.

At this point, Dream is pretty sure another leak has sprung somewhere. George can no longer go under the water easily. He sits against the side to rest and when breathing becomes too hard, he splashes handfuls of water onto his neck.

“I don’t think we’re on the interstate anymore,” Dream says after a while. George doesn’t say anything, just nods weakly. Minutes pass in uneasy quiet, George's labored breaths echoing against the metal walls of the truck.

“Thanks for showing me how good humans can be,” George croaks, halfheartedly splashing the water that’s left onto his neck. “You’re the best thing that happened to me.”

“Stop talking like that,” Dream says bluntly, trying to glare at him through the darkness.

“Thank you for getting me out of there. Thank you for the fish,” a cough rattles his chest, “Thank you for talking to me and giving me hope when there was none.”

“Stop it, George, fucking stop it.”

“I think I love you, if the love of a merman is worth anything.”

Salty tears drip down Dream’s nose. “I think I love you too,” he whispers.

At long last, the truck stops. There’s hardly a puddle left in the middle of the tarp. Dream scrambles for the door when he hears Sapnap unlatch it. He throws it open, “We’re here!” Sapnap announces joyfully.

“Sap, help me get him out,” Dream demands, bracing his soaked legs on the outside of the pool and pulling on one of George’s arms. In the pale light just before dawn, Dream sees that his eyes are closed. There is blood on his lips and his gills flutter hopelessly.

“Oh, fuck.” Sapnap climbs up and helps heave George towards them and then over the side of the pool. Precariously, Dream scoops him up bridal style again, running toward the gate next to the house at the end of the driveway. Sapnap pulls it open and ocean air hits him smack in the face.

With adrenaline pumping through his veins, Dream runs down the boardwalk and through the sand, cursing the tide for being low. “Please, George,” he finds himself murmuring, “Come on, George, hang in there. I can’t lose you like this, I can’t.”

He splashes into the water, wading in until he falls to his knees and sea foam washes over George’s body. “Please, George!” he sobs. It feels counter intuitive to his human mind, but he shoves him by his shoulders under the waves, shaking him in an attempt to wake him up. “George, wake up! Please, you have to wake up!”

The brilliant light of sunrise breaks over the horizon. In the corner of his vision, bright blue flashes. Dream turns his head and sees George’s tail moving purposefully in the water. He drags him to the surface, “George!”

“Dream!” he gasps, laughing as he sits up in Dream’s arms. “I’m okay! Barely made it, but I’m okay.” He presses his hands to Dream’s cheeks and wipes away his tears, murmuring over and over again, “I’m okay, I’m okay.”

“I’m sorry,” Dream says, forehead connecting with the merman’s as he shakes with sobs, unable to stop crying as adrenaline continues to rush through him. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

“I’m okay, Dream, you freed me. I’m okay.”

“I know, but you almost died,” Dream says, leaning back and wiping the dried blood from George’s lips.

“But I didn’t. And you saved me. Thank you.” Like he can’t stop himself, George’s attention shifts to the open ocean beside them. Dream can feel him draw in a deep breath of salty air.

“Go,” Dream says gently, tears starting up again for an entirely different reason. “You’re free now. You know where I live if you ever need me.”

George smiles, attention returning to the face in his hands. “I’ll be back soon.” He leans in and presses a soft, salty kiss to Dream’s lips. With that, he leaves Dream’s arms and swims for the horizon, blue tail shimmering in the early morning sun.

Dream sits in the surf, waves lapping at his soaked pant legs. “Goodbye, George.”

Chapter Text

Dream and Sapnap dismantle the U-Haul pool in silence before driving back. Staring out at the passing landscape, Dream nods off after the exhausting 24 hours he's had, forehead bumping against the window.

"Do you really think you'll see him again?" Sapnap asks after a while, pulling him out of a doze.

"No."

"Oh." He can hear Sapnap trying to figure out what to say next, "But you're still going to live there."

Dream sighs, "Yeah, I was wanting to move anyway. I applied for a maintenance position with some rental properties in the area."

"Ah, gotcha." They drive the rest of the way in silence.

Dream only remembers that his apartment is empty when he goes home to get his car. For the duration of his days at the aquarium, Dream crashes on Sapnap’s couch, who doesn’t bother him much, thankfully. He knows he’s going through emotions somewhat akin to a breakup, but somehow it feels worse. He dreams of the ocean, of searching and searching but never finding, and of drowning.

The three of them are cautious at work. None of them have heard anything from higher-ups about the merman disappearing. They bank on people thinking George is just being difficult or sick. Still, Dream encourages Sapnap and Karl to find new jobs in the near future.

The boyfriends stand in the driveway to tell Dream goodbye. “You guys can come visit,” Dream says through his rolled-down window.

“Yeah, we will,” says Sapnap.

“Let us know if George shows up!” Karl says cautiously.

“Tell me if you hear anything about an escaped merman. Thanks for letting me stay with you, Sap. See you guys!”

“Bye, Dream!”

“Good luck! Drive safe.”

He turns his music all the way up and rolls the windows all the way down, trying as hard as possible not to think of the last time he traveled this route. Once he’s almost there, Dream stops to grab some groceries, delaying his arrival a little bit longer. The sun is shining and he can hear the ocean when he arrives, but Dream heads straight into the house.

He pulls the blinds down on all the windows that face the sea, takes a deep breath, and starts unpacking.

Though his dreams are still plagued by the oppressive feeling of water in his lungs, Dream starts to feel at home once he’s unpacked two days later. There’s a knock on the door while he’s eating breakfast, so he drops his fork and goes to answer it, curious and slightly desperate for someone to talk to.

“Hello!” says an older woman in a black dress with a blue ocean pattern when he pulls the door open. She’s holding a plate of brownies and Dream smiles. “My name is Betsy, I’m your neighbor to the left. I wanted to welcome you to the area!”

“Thank you so much,” Dream says, taking the plate, “My name is Dream. Come in.” They walk through the entryway and Dream only realizes how dark he’s kept it in here when the door slams shut. He sets down the brownies and starts opening blinds.

“I’m so glad you’ve moved here, dear,” the woman says, taking a seat on the blue couch that faces the doors to the back porch, and by extension the ocean. “It was a rental property for years, which caused a lot of problems.”

“I’m glad to be here,” Dream says, sitting in an armchair that’s mostly angled away from the back doors.

“Where did you move from?”

“About a two hour drive inland. Decided I wanted to be closer to the… ocean,” he says, stumbling on the last word.

“It is so beautiful,” the woman sighs. “Have you found work yet?”

“I do maintenance and things like that. I’ll be working for the rental properties up the road starting next week,” Dream says, picking at his nails.

“Oh, that’s wonderful! Maybe my husband and I can hire you to do some things around our house. He’s a retired marine biologist. You’ll probably see him on the beach; he goes nearly every day. Still can’t get enough of it after all these years.” Dream wonders what the man would think of a real, live merman.

“Are you also retired?” Dream asks.

“Mostly,” she continues to smile politely, “I have my fingers in a few different pots.” Silence hovers over them because Dream doesn’t know what to say to that until she says, “My apologies, I’m in the habit of glossing over my profession because some people don’t take kindly to it, but who really cares about impressions these days.” She laughs and Dream feels at ease again.

“Believe me, ma’am, I’ve seen some things. Very little phases me.”

She nods, “It’s like that when you’re near the sea; strange things. I’m a witch. There are plenty of things more strange than that.”

“Oh,” Dream’s thoughts fly to the ocean behind him and a merman who is somewhere in the depths of it, “Do you… specialize in anything?”

Betsy studies him for a moment, eyes keen, making him feel exposed, “I only do minor healing and little things now, but back in the day, I did a lot of transformations.”

“What…” his heart squeezes in his chest, “What would that entail?”

He should have guessed a little earlier that witches, or simply older women, can catch onto things like heartbreak and longing. Her demeanor changes, becomes more professional. “Almost whatever you want it to. I’ve turned nasty husbands into frogs and wicked women into snails. Do you need a transformation done, Dream?”

He looks down at his hands, at nail beds picked raw, at calluses formed by a mediocre pressure washer. But then he thinks of kneeling in the sea with George in his arms and watching him swim away into the sunrise. “No, that’s just really interesting.”

She chuckles, “Are the things you’ve seen stranger than that?”

Dream musters a smile for her, “Believe it or not, they are.”

“Alright, honey, I should be heading back home.” She stands, straightening her skirt, “My husband always gets onto me about overstaying my welcome.”

Dream laughs, pushing himself to his feet and walking her to the door, “No worries, Betsy, you’re welcome any time. Thank you for coming by.”

“Let me know if you need anything!” She’s standing on the doorstep when she turns back and looks him in the eye, “Even a trick or two from this old witch. And if you see an old man wandering down the beach, it’s just a marine biologist in his natural habitat!”

Dream grins as he waves, “Okay, thank you!” When she’s out of sight, he shuts the door and leans back against it. He has the overwhelming desire to tell George about everything. From his place at the door, he stares straight through the house to the ocean, hoping and praying for the sight of blue scales. Standing there, Dream thinks about going out to the water, but he waits too long and talks himself out of it. He goes to clean up breakfast. The blinds stay open.

Though he has yet to spend time on the beach, Dream buys a surfboard in hopes that it will get him in the water. It lives propped against the wall next to the back door as the first day of Dream’s new job creeps closer.

He's rinsing dishes in the sink when he looks out at the ocean, squinting into the brightness when he spots something on the rock outcropping. A shimmering blue tail flicks water up out of the sea. "George?" He breathes.

Dropping the dishes with a clatter, he doesn't bother turning the water off when he runs for the back door. "George!" He yells when his bare feet splash into the water.

The merman sits up, "Dream? Dream!" He pushes himself off of the rock and into the ocean, swimming for the human. They meet in the middle and Dream tackles him in a hug.

They come up laughing and George steadies the blonde as he tries to get his footing in the chest-deep water. "Dream, you're still in your pajamas.” His smile is unrelenting and his eyes are bright. The scars are still there, but they’ve faded with a tan and his ribs no longer stick out. “Where have you been?"

Dream’s t-shirt billows out around him as he leans his head back and laughs, still holding onto George's waist. "George, I didn't think you'd come back."

"Of course I came back, I told you the sea gets lonely. Besides, I wanted to hear if anything happened at the aquarium after the escape." He starts leading them toward shore and they end up sitting in the surf.

Dream pulls off his soggy shirt and throws it on the beach. "I haven't heard anything from Sapnap. I went back and finished out the last few days of my two weeks and then came here to unpack."

“So you’ve been here? Have you started a new job or something?” George asks, leaning back in the sand and letting the salt water wash over his skin.

“I…” Dream sighs, “My new job starts in a few days. I’ve been here, I just haven’t been to the beach.”

“Oh.”

“I was just scared,” Dream says quietly, volume barely enough to be heard over the waves.

“Why?”

“I really didn’t think you’d come back here once you were free. I mean, why would you? You can go anywhere.”

“You’re an idiot.”

“What?”

George rolls his eyes and laughs, “Why would I make you move and then not come see you? I’ve come by every day, but it didn’t look like you were here yet. I thought you’d gotten arrested.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“Make it up to me by coming to see me every day, then.”

Dream turns to look at George. He’s happier than he’s ever seen him and even though Dream knows he’s annoyed that he basically hid from him, the merman doesn’t seem to want to hold it against him. “I will,” he promises, “I’ll eat breakfast and dinner out here and I can surf on the weekends.”

“You got a surfboard?” George asks, sitting up.

“Yep.”

“Go get it!”

Dream laughs, “Okay. I’m going to put on a swimsuit too.”

They swim and talk until Dream’s shoulders are red from the sun and he wonders why he ever thought George wouldn’t come back.

“This is so much better than waiting for you to come see me at work,” George says as he floats on his back watching the stars appear.

Dream’s fingers brush his skin in the water, “And now you’re free. And my new job is going to have better hours and pay anyway.”

“Now if only I could experience a human bed…”

“Nope.” George laughs at him. “Nope. I am not risking anything like that ever again. Scariest moment of my life.”

“I was kidding,” George says, pulling down on the edge of the surfboard so that Dream almost slides off. They laugh and fight until they get tired, relaxing again in the moonlight. “Is that why you wouldn’t come out to the beach?” George asks quietly after a while.

“Yeah,” Dream sighs, “And I’ve been having dreams.”

“Of what?”

“Drowning.”

A long silence follows Dream’s statement. Eventually, George reaches up on the surfboard and takes his hand. “Me too.”

“Really?” Dream asks, squeezing his hand.

“Yes. And it’s impossible for me to drown.”

“You can drown in air, I guess.”

“True, but my dreams are of sinking to the bottom of the ocean and drowning. Like my gills disappear.” The depths below them suddenly become terrifying, sending chills down their backs. Dream squeezes George’s hand again.

After several minutes, the merman asks, “Do humans have names for the constellations?”

“Yeah,” Dream answers, “But I don’t really know them except for the big and little dippers.”

“It’s because you don’t need them,” George says, like it’s a revelation.

“What do you mean?”

“You don’t need constellations, you don’t need to know the stars, because of your navigation equipment and your light pollution. Merpeople navigate and live by the stars. It’s one of the few things my mother taught me before she left,” George explains.

Dream turns his head to look at George, his face illuminated by moonlight. His eyes are bright as he begins to point out shapes in the stars. Again, Dream is struck by how much happier George is, and he feels guiltily selfish for wishing it was still so easy to access the merman. As he watches George talk about the stars, he realizes that they have an actual relationship now, one that involves trust and communication. After his avoidance of the beach these past few days, Dream vows to do everything he can from now on to keep George in his life.

“It’s amazing that you know all of that,” Dream says when he’s done listing the major constellations.

“I have to know it,” he says matter-of-factly. “It was insane to look at the stars the night you freed me and realize how long I’d been trapped.”

He’s afraid to ask. “How long?”

“Five years.”

“Holy shit,” Dream breathes.

“I looked for and asked around about some of my friends,” George says to break the silence. “Merpeople tend to disappear, whether it be because of humans or because we often go walkabout.”

“So you don’t think they looked for you?”

“Probably not.”

“Surely someone worried,” Dream says, tracing a thumb over George’s knuckles.

The merman gives a shrug. “I’m just glad I’m here.” And Dream knows he means he’s glad about everything, glad he’s there in that moment, glad he’s back in the ocean, glad that Dream is there beside him, glad he’s here.

Saying goodbye that night is tough. They make plans to see each other in the morning, and every single morning after that, but it doesn’t feel like enough. As he walks out of the sea, Dream thinks of George’s lighthearted wistfulness for a human bed. He thinks of Betsy. He showers and dries off and goes to bed exhausted. But he still dreams of drowning.

Several days later, Dream stands on the beach in only sweatpants rolled up to his knees, tea in hand, as he watches the sunrise. He scans the horizon for signs of George, who he’s discovered has a habit of oversleeping. The sound of the waves on the sand mask most other sounds, so Dream doesn’t hear the other person until he’s pretty close.

“Mornin’!” says the old man just after Dream notices him.

“Good morning,” Dream offers in return. He holds out a hand as the man steps up beside him. “I’m Dream. Are you Betsy’s husband?”

He laughs good-naturedly, “Indeed I am. My name is Howard. You must be our new neighbor.”

“That’s me,” Dream says, gaze returning to the sea. “Betsy said you were a marine biologist.”

“She told you correctly,” he says, shifting his weight on his feet and scanning the water. “When I retired, we had to move to the beach. I knew I couldn’t stand to be away from it.”

“Sounds like the perfect retirement.”

“It really is. What brings you to the ocean, young man?”

Dream shrugs, unsure how to put it into words, unsure what he wants to reveal, “It just seemed right.”

“Do you know her?” Howard asks, bending to pass a hand through the foamy surf.

“Who?”

He chuckles, “The ocean. How familiar are you with her?”

He finds himself shrugging again, “Not very. Went on beach trips with my family as a kid. Before I moved, I worked at an aquarium, so maybe that was part of it.”

Howard straightens back up and Dream can feel his gaze boring into the side of his face, studying him much the same way his wife did. “Sometimes she calls to people.” He holds out a weathered hand, so Dream looks down, and in it is a small, off white seashell. He takes the gift and turns it over in his fingers. The inside is bright blue, the same blue of George’s tail.

“What’s the craziest thing you’ve seen that came from the ocean?” Dream finds himself asking.

“Hm,” Howard says, “I’ve seen all kinds of interesting creatures. The deeper you go, the crazier they get. I’m sure you’ve heard about giant squids and anglerfish. The best are the things that are supposed to be myths.”

“Is there evidence of mythical sea creatures?”

“Depends on who you ask.”

“Do you think some sea creatures in myths are real?” Dream asks, trying to keep the right amount of interest in his voice.

He waits a long time before answering, “I’ve seen too much not to think so.”

Dream takes a deep breath, hesitates, asks, “Have you seen anything around here?”

Howard laughs and looks at him curiously, “I haven’t yet. But you seem to think I will, Dream.”

He shrugs and tries to laugh it off, “I don’t know, the sea is mysterious.”

“That she is, that she is.” They stand in silence for a minute more before Howard clears his throat and says, “I’ll keep an extra eye out, then. Have a good day.”

“You too.”

He's not long alone with the waves and his tea before George surfaces and asks, "Who was that?"

"The neighbor," Dream answers, walking further into the ocean towards him.

"Are you liking your new job?"

"Yeah," Dream says, filling and emptying the teacup with sea water, shoulder to shoulder with George, "It's pretty simple. The aquarium stuff was more specialized at times, this is just general maintenance and problem solving."

"That's good. I wouldn't even know how to begin going about all of that," the merman says, running a hand through his hair.

Dream's attention fastens onto drops of water trailing down George's arm before he answers, shrugging, "You've never had to do any of it. Different worlds."

"I think you should show me how to change a lightbulb," George suggests, grinning up at him. Dream smiles back. They talk until he has to go to work, taunting wistful plans of a hypothetical future, the truth of their desires locked behind their teeth.

A thunderstorm is brewing on the horizon several evenings later as Dream sits on the shore eating his dinner and waiting for George. His food is long gone and the sun has long since set when he really begins to worry. Knees tucked up to his chest and fingers tapping along his shin, Dream chews on his lip and gives in to anxiety, convinced George has been re-captured or eaten or dead. He watches the storm rage over the ocean, a mile or two out at sea. Lightning strikes the water and thunder rolls over him, but the clouds dissipate before they reach shore.

His anxieties over George’s safety give way to new ones: that George has finally left. Maybe he decided to move on to more interesting seas or travel to one of the merpeople cities. Visiting Dream had gotten tedious and boring and he'd paid his debt for the rescue.

Dream is nodding off, chin bumping his knee, plagued by half-awake nightmares of abandonment, when there's a violent splash a little ways out on the water. He jerks fully awake, standing and walking in up to his knees, the dark and dangerous ocean keeping him hesitant.

Something is swimming right for him, and then George’s head breaks the surface with a gasp, "Dream!" The human runs deeper into the water, picking the merman up by his shoulders and dragging him back. They land in an awkward sitting position and Dream grabs his face to see what's wrong.

"George! George, are you okay? What's wrong?" The merman’s breathing is labored, his nose is bleeding, and his eyelids flutter. As Dream's gaze moves down, he finds a red line on his neck that crosses his gills and a deep cut on his chest. George’s shaky hand clutches his shoulder and as water drips down his face, Dream realizes he's crying.

"Someone tried to capture me," George says, head dropping forward so that his forehead is pressed to Dream's chest. "My gills hurt, I can't breathe."

Hands on his cheeks, Dream lifts his head and tilts it to the side, examining damaged gills in the moonlight. "Where else are you hurt?"

"The… the cut on my chest and some rope burn," he struggles to say, eyes closed and the weight of his head leaned on Dream's hand.

"Can you stay here? I'm going to get my first aid kit." George nods, grasp on Dream loosening enough for him to go. As he runs back to the house, he registers Betsy and Howard's dim porch light.

When he returns to the sea, he drops the kit in the sand and rummages through it, unsure what to even grab. He settles on a towel and steri-strips that will act as stitches. He wonders if they'll even stick in the water.

George floats on the surface as Dream doctors the cut on his chest and the strips do stick enough to hold off the bleeding. He uses the towel to wipe off the blood under his nose and then looks at his neck again, unsure what to do. "Is there anything I can get to help your gills?"

"I don't think so," George says quietly, "I'll be okay, it just hurts a lot. Stay with me."

Dream takes the towel and some pieces of trash back to shore, adrenaline slowly leaving him shaky and tired. He glances at his neighbor's porch again, seeing rocking chairs move back and forth, wondering what they've seen.

He sits with George for a long time, holding his hand and running fingers through his hair. The merman is the one to break the silence, "I don't want to live in the ocean anymore."

"I'm sorry."

"I don't want to be hunted. I don't want to be alone. I don't want it to be so dangerous for me to come see my boyfriend."

Dream's hand pauses in his hair, "Boyfriend?"

"Not the point. I don't want to be a merman anymore. It sucks."

Dream laughs, despite it all, he laughs and he feels crazy; George gives him a look that tells him so. "Sorry, that was not the right time, I just… remember the mermaid princess movie I told you about? You're basically living that out. And there are so many people who would pay tons of money to even have proof you exist. You're literally the stuff of mythologies, the subject of novels and children's books, the thing little kids everywhere want to be, and you don't want it. I understand why you don't want it and I don't want you to hurt anymore, it's just surreal."

George laughs a little too, "I guess it does seem crazy from the human perspective. But sometimes the realities of the legends aren't all they're cut out to be."

They each sit in their own thoughts for a while. Dream watches George’s tail near the surface of the water, swaying with the waves. "What can we do, George? I mean, I could build you a tank near or in my house, but it will never be big enough for you to be comfortable. We don’t have many options."

The merman thinks for several minutes, eyes on the stars. "I want to be human," he finally says.

Dream dares to think of Betsy again. "I have an idea."

He gets up and George asks, slightly upset, "Where are you going?"

"Just trust me."

It has to be nearing midnight when he treks up the shore to his neighbor's house, but the light is still on. He knows he looks a mess, wearing regular clothes that are soaked through, eyes bloodshot and dark with exhaustion. When he walks up the boardwalk to the porch, Betsy is sitting there with a gentle, matronly smile on her face. "What’s wrong, dear?"

"You were right," he says, leaning against the railing and trying to hold back an unexpected wave of tears, "I need a transfiguration."

She nods like she already knows, standing and taking his arm despite the fact that he's soaking wet. "Can you take me to him?"

"Yeah."

George is waiting in the surf and watching when they reach him. Betsy pats Dream’s arm before letting go to roll up her pant legs.

When they walk into the water, Dream tells George by way of explanation, "She's a witch." He gestures to George and turns to Betsy, "This is George."

The merman’s gaze lingers on Dream before he examines Betsy. The woman waits while he decides whether or not to trust her. He glances back at Dream once and then says, "I want to be human."

Betsy nods, "Why do you want to be human?"

George laughs without humor, pointing to his neck, "Because being a merman sucks."

She smiles, "And your love cannot live with you in the ocean."

Dream refuses to make eye contact when George looks at him. "That too," he admits quietly.

Betsy nods with finality, "I can make you human."

"Really?"

"Seriously?"

She studies George from head to tail, "I will go make a salve for your injuries tonight. The transfiguration drink will take a few days. But it comes at a price."

"I'll pay anything," Dream offers quickly, but she ignores him.

Betsy shakes her head and looks at George, "It's not monetary. It comes at a price for you."

The merman sets his shoulders, determined. "What do I have to pay?"

Betsy looks between them sadly, like she doesn't want to say it. "You will lose your memories of Dream."

The human's stomach lurches. George doesn’t flinch. "I'll be right back with the salve. You can change your mind at any time about the transfiguration, but I'll get started on the drink."

She leaves and Dream sits next to George. When he opens his mouth to speak, George says, "Let's not talk about it tonight." They sit in silence until Betsy returns and puts a grainy cream on George's wounds. Dream can see the relief on his face when she applies it to his gills. The witch leaves and they remain in silence, waves lapping at them as they sit shoulder-to-shoulder in the night.

"I need to go think," George says, shifting stiff joints.

"I'm going to call out of work tomorrow, so I'll come see you later in the day than usual. Can we talk then?" He looks at George whose gaze is locked on the horizon, a light breeze ruffling through his hair.

"Yeah, we can talk tomorrow." He shakes his head and turns to meet Dream's gaze, searching his eyes for a moment. With a slight smile, the merman leans in to kiss his cheek, and then swims away into the sea.

Dream drags himself inside to bed. He still dreams of drowning, but this time George is drowning with him.

When he wakes up, Dream sees with new eyes. He looks around his room and wonders what it would be like to have George living with him. He imagines the empty bathroom drawer full of another person’s things. He thinks about cooking breakfast for two instead of just himself.

Late in the morning, he heads down to the beach with an extra cup of tea in hand for George to try. The merman is waiting for him.

"Before you start trying to talk me out of it," George says the moment he's in earshot, "I have some things to say."

Dream laughs, handing him the cup, "Alright, George, I want to listen. It's your decision in the end anyway."

George takes a sip of the drink and pulls a sour face, "Okay, if this is what humans drink, maybe I will change my mind."

The human laughs again, "Well maybe you're a coffee person."

"What does that mean?"

He shrugs, "Drink preferences. Say what you need to say."

George takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly, leaning back in the water. Brown hair fans out around his head and he looks like he belongs there in the morning sunlight surrounded by blue. "I want to be human. I wanted to be human before I met you, it just wasn't possible before then. Forgetting you is going to suck, but I know I can come to trust and care for you again anyway. You're the best human I've ever known and you're better than any merperson."

Grinning, Dream grabs his arm and pulls him up for a short kiss, laughing when he pulls away, "Nice speech, George. I care about you too. I know how much you want to be human, but we need to talk about logistics too."

George rolls his eyes, "Alright, give me all your practicalities."

"My main worry is that you're going to do the transfiguration and you'll be forced to live with a complete stranger while you figure out how to even be a human. You will be totally dependent on me for a while. I will help you get a job and figure things out, but you're basically jumping into life as a human without the assets people get by simply growing up."

"You don't want me to stay with you?"

"Of course I want you to stay with me, but I'm concerned about it being your only option. I'm being realistic, George. You could come to hate me when you get to know me again."

His brow furrows, "I will never hate you."

"How do you know?"

"I just know."

Dream sighs, “Alright. There’s only one bedroom in the house.” He feels his cheeks heat up even though it’s not a particularly embarrassing topic.

The merman laughs, “That’s okay. You said it was a big bed. Or I can sleep on the couch.”

“No, no, no, I want you to have a human bed, but I don’t know if the you that doesn’t know me will want to sleep in the same bed with me,” Dream says, rubbing the back of his neck.

George shrugs, “I’m forgetting you, but I’m not forgetting my life as a merman. I don’t even know how humans work now. Just tell me it’s normal for humans to sleep together.”

The human snorts a laugh, “Well, it is.”

George rolls his eyes, “Whatever.”

Taking George’s hand and floating on his back, Dream says, “What if you spend some time as a human and then want to be a merman again.”

“I won’t.”

“How do you know? Let me guess, you just know?” Dream asks, squeezing his hand.

“I just know. Because I will no longer be hunted or alone. I’ll have all kinds of options for my future. And we won’t have to hang out in the ocean anymore. Any more logistics, human?”

He laughs, “Not that I can think of right now. It’s going to be okay. It’ll suck that you won’t remember me. Selfishly, I think I’ll miss your tail.”

With a laugh, George sits up in the water, “Really?”

Dream looks away, replying sheepishly, "Yeah. It's very beautiful."

George rolls his eyes with a laugh, putting his hands on Dream’s shoulders and pushing him back so he's seated on the sand rather than floating. With that accomplished, the merman lays on top of him, similar to how they were that night in the truck. Their faces are close and Dream feels like he can't breathe for reasons other than the literal weight on his chest. "You can touch."

Shaky hands rest on George's back, brown eyes maintaining contact with green as his palms slide down. All the merman does is grin at his blush as Dream moves his hands down to where a human's ass would be. The beautiful blue scales are slick and smooth under Dream’s hands, but truth be told, he's not thinking much about the tail anymore. George’s chest is warm against his and he can feel the merman’s breath against his lips. The water pushes and pulls at their bodies, but all that matters in this moment is each other.

Dream slides one hand up his back and the other hand to his hip, thumb rubbing between scales and skin. He relaxes, head dropping back onto damp sand and grinning up at his companion, “Since you won’t remember me, you won’t remember anything I’ve said, right?”

“I guess not,” George says with half a shrug.

“Well, if we become romantic again after you’re human, I want to have sex on the beach.”

“Dream!” George laughs, “Oh my god, Dream. Well, now I see where your head is at.”

“Come on now, you’re hot, please forgive me.” Dream can’t seem to stop his hands from moving, touching and taking in as much as he can, reveling in the opportunity to feel.

George smirks, “Only if you promise to give me proper sex education when I’m human.”

His eyes widen, “Shit, that’s actually important.”

“Don’t worry, I’m a hands-on learner.” George laughs, but quickly reverts to seriousness, “Are you okay with all of this, Dream? Having to teach me to be human when I won’t even remember you?”

“Yeah, of course I am,” Dream responds, fingertips running down George’s spine, “A little nervous, sure, but you want this, so I want to help you.”

The merman tips his head down and kisses him, a quick peck that makes Dream grin.

“So that’s why my wife won’t tell me what the new potion she’s brewing is for.”

Dream and George scramble apart, George going straight out to sea without looking back. Dream is left there in the surf, looking over his shoulder with red cheeks at Howard standing on the beach. “Hi, Howard,” he says with an awkward wave.

The old man chuckles, watching Dream stand up. “He didn’t have to leave,” he says, gesturing to the ocean, “I have no desire to harm him. I know how people often treat beautiful creatures.”

“He didn’t know that,” Dream says with a small shrug, mourning the moment they lost.

“So, he’s going to become human.” It’s not a question, simply a statement. Dream nods and the old man chuckles, “I understand now why Betsy wouldn’t tell me. Of course I don’t want an incredible creature like that taken from the ocean.”

Dream sighs, “I do think of it as a bit of a shame sometimes, but I’m not sad enough about it to stop him.”

“Of course not, you love him.” Having it stated so plainly and simply in broad daylight nearly makes Dream jump. “What does he have to sacrifice?”

Dream thinks that sacrifice is a good way to put it. “His memories of me.”

“Ah.” The silence is full of ocean waves and Howard’s sympathy, “Then your bond is strong, indeed.”

The younger man sighs, “I don’t know how it’s going to go, but at least he’ll have what he wants.”

“I assume he’ll remember his life as a merperson besides the parts with you in it? I wonder if he’d mind telling me about it once he’s safe and human,” Howard says.

“He’d probably talk to you,” Dream shrugs, “He won’t have much to do while I’m at work until we figure out how to get him a job.”

Howard smiles, “I would love to hear about the ocean from a merperson. What an interesting perspective that will be.”

“I’ll mention it to him.”

“Good luck, son,” Howard says before walking back up the beach.

Over the next several days, Dream and George carry on with their routine. Dream is cooking dinner when there’s a knock on the back door. Through the window, he can see that it’s Betsy, so he rushes to rinse his hands and open the door. “Hi, Betsy, come in!”

“Hello, dear,” she says with a smile, both hands encircling a glass of bright green liquid. “Is George going to be around tonight? The drink is ready.”

Dream turns off the stove with the loud click of a dial, drawing in a deep breath that carries the scent of his dinner before he turns back to the woman. “He will be, we usually have dinner together.''

She studies him in silence for a moment. “You don’t want him to forget you.”

“Of course not. But this is his choice,” Dream responds, wishing these old people weren’t so good at stating facts he’s not ready to think about. His hunger having disappeared entirely the moment he saw Besty, he puts his freshly cooked meal in the fridge and then stands near the back door like a soldier waiting for instructions.

The old woman chuckles, “I think you should go wait for your merman. Tell him it’s ready. Make sure he wants it. I’ll wait on the porch for you to wave me down.”

Dream heaves another deep breath. “Okay.”

She gives him a reassuring smile, “It’s going to be okay.”

He nods and then pulls open the back door. Dream doesn’t have to wait long standing in the surf for George to arrive. He leans down for a quick kiss and the merman opens his mouth to begin conversation, but he then catches on to Dream's mood, corners of his lips turning down. "What's wrong?"

"It's ready," he responds simply, "Betsy is waiting. Are you still sure?"

Soft brown eyes study the human's face and he reaches to take Dream's hand. Squeezing his fingers, he says, "Yes. Are you?"

Dream looks at him, at the qualities that make him a merman, at the ocean around them, and the horizon lit up in a masterpiece of a sunset. He thinks of how they got here, thinks of what it would be like if they didn't do this, decides ultimately that it would be more painful than the route they are choosing. He wants George in his home, in his bed, in his arms. He wants to show George how humans love.

"Yeah," he musters a smile, "I'm sure." George grins and Dream falls to his knees in the water so that they're on eye level and kisses him properly, hugging him tight to his chest because he knows they may not be back to this intimacy for a while, if ever.

He waves to Betsy on the porch and she makes her way down the beach, a smile on her face. Dream helps George get most of the way out of the water, white foam lapping at his brilliant blue tail. Setting a gentle hand on George's shoulder, Betsy hands him the glass.

"If you drink it all in one go, it will hurt less. Once the transfiguration is complete, you will not remember Dream, but you will retain all other memories. Whenever you're ready, drink it all. I will take the glass and leave once I see that it's working properly. Your legs won't be very strong, so you'll have to let Dream help you to the house. You'll probably feel like sleeping for a while after it's done and you need to drink a lot of water over the next few days." She gives one nod, patting his shoulder, and then takes a step back.

Kneeling next to him, Dream watches the merman stare into the swirling green liquid. His eyes lift to the horizon and Dream wishes he could know what he's thinking about. Gaze shifting to the human, George gives him a reassuring smile and says, "I love you," before lifting the cup to his lips and gulping it down. Dream grips his arm.

Sputtering, he pauses when the liquid is almost gone, drawing in a deep breath and groaning, "Ugh, it tastes like chum." He downs the rest of it and gives the glass to Betsy, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. His expression twists in discomfort, hand falling to his abdomen.

George looks to Dream, drinking in every detail of his face that he's trying to keep from showing that he's scared out of his mind. "Dream," he says, pain straining his voice, "Shit, Dream." The human sees the moment it becomes too much, agony clouding those brown eyes just before they fall closed. The merman doubles over and whimpers, "It hurts."

"You're going to be alright, George, you just have to make it through this," Dream says, rubbing circles into his skin with his thumb. Right before his eyes, the gills on his neck close and become smooth, fading until only a row of thin white scars are left. Betsy walks away.

"Please, make it stop," George groans, "It hurts, it hurts."

Dream runs his hand up and down his back now, wishing desperately that he could do anything other than sit here and wait. "You'll be okay, George, it'll be done soon."

The merman looks at him and Dream's heart breaks. Not only is there no recognition, but tears are running down his face. "Can you help me?"

Dream shakes his head, close to crying himself, "I can't, I'm sorry. But I'll stay with you."

He nods, watery eyes searching Dream's face before he doubles over again with a shout of pain. Hand shooting out for something to grab, he wraps a fist in Dream’s t-shirt, sobs shaking his frame. The human watches slick blue scales fade and become skin. He wraps an arm around George’s shoulders.

"My- my tail… my legs!" George half sobs, half shouts, forehead hitting his knees as he draws them up and wraps an arm around his shins. He cries and groans, struggling to breathe, the shoulders under Dream’s arm heaving unevenly.

Dream is basically holding him at this point, so he feels the moment the tension leaves George’s body. The grip on his shirt loosens, but George leans into him, still sobbing.

They sit in the breaking waves for several long minutes as George recovers, breathing and heart rate slowing. "How do you feel?" Dream finally asks.

George takes a deep breath and lifts his head, opening his mouth to say something, but he stops when he looks up at the stars. Seconds tick by and he breathes, "My eyes aren't as good." He stares at the sky a little longer before turning to Dream and the blond wonders what he could possibly be thinking about what he sees right now. "It doesn't hurt anymore," the new human says cautiously.

For a moment the whole world stands still and Dream could swear that even the ocean is silent until George asks, "Who are you?"

Dream's stomach lurches and he fights his hardest to keep his expression neutral, "My name is Dream. I'm going to help you get to the house."

"What kind of name is that?"

He laughs but he wants to cry. "Didn't think I'd be defending my name to a mer… human tonight. It's just a nickname that stuck somewhere along the way."

George laughs, "Okay, Dream, can you help me up? I don't know how legs work."

"Yeah, here." He brings George’s arm around his shoulders and supports his back, lifting him to his feet. Only when George is struggling to figure out how to move his feet for the first time in loose sand does it occur to Dream that the brunet isn't wearing anything at all. As he turns them toward the house, Dream elects to ignore that problem for now.

It's slow going up the beach. Fatigue quickly hits George and sand is by far the most difficult terrain to learn to walk on. Halfway to the house, Dream gains enough courage to ask, "Do you want me to carry you the rest of the way?"

"Yes, please," George sighs, giggling sleepily as Dream scoops him up. They're a stumbling mess as they try to shower off on the boardwalk and George comments, "I've never had to do this before."

Dream wraps him up in a big beach towel and sits him on the couch before he goes to fill a glass with water. When he returns, George's eyelids are drooping and he barely manages to stay awake enough to empty the cup.

Getting the brunet into clothes is no small task because he can't stand alone yet, but the number of times he comments on how soft the sweatshirt and sweatpants are makes it all worth it. Dream helps him lay down in the bed and George doesn’t protest at all, hardly able to lift his head to drink more water that Dream insists on. He goes to refill the glass and when he comes back to leave it at his bedside, George is already fast asleep.

Dream stands still for a long moment, this scene of George in his bed, wrapped in his clothes, with soft brown hair fanned over the pillow, completely boggling his mind. He struggles to understand that the last half hour even happened, like he'll blink and George will be gone.

His growling stomach is what finally makes him step out of the room. With one more glance at the man in his bed, he flicks off the light and closes the door.

In complete silence, he re-heats his dinner, gets ready for bed, and then lays down on the couch, exhausted but not sleepy. He listens to the crash of ocean waves long into the night before he finally falls asleep. He doesn't dream of anything.

Thankfully, it’s a holiday weekend, so Dream has several days off to get George settled. He wakes late into the morning and goes to check on George, mostly to ensure it wasn’t all a dream. The man is still in his bed, mouth open and face relaxed in sleep.

He makes breakfast quietly, a peace coming over him that he hasn’t felt since before he met George, or perhaps ever. He tries his hardest not to think about the fact that George has no clue who he is, but his mind drifts there anyway. All those moments at the aquarium, those long nights when they fell asleep holding hands, the entirety of the escape, all of it is real only to Dream.

George enters the kitchen still wearing the clothes they put him in last night, hair a mess and rubbing sleepy eyes with his fist. Golden light falls over him through the windows and he yawns as he sits down at the counter. Dream feels like he could melt.

“Good morning,” Dream offers, plating the breakfast he’d just finished cooking.

“Morning,” he says with a sleepy smile, “It was Dream, right?”

“Yeah.” The syllable comes out strained.

He slides George’s plate onto the counter and receives a quiet, “Thanks.” Other than the distant sound of the ocean, it’s quiet for a while. George is the one to break the silence by saying, “Thank you for your help. I get the sense that you know me already…?”

“I do,” Dream confirms, putting his plate in the sink and then rounding the counter to sit next to George so he doesn’t have to look at him while they have this conversation. “I helped you escape the aquarium. You had to forget me in order to become human.”

“That sucks,” he says, setting down his fork with a clink. “Will you teach me how to be a human, Dream?”

“Of course,” he responds, offering a smile, “I have a couple of days off work. Maybe today we should go get you some of your own clothes.”

George’s grin lights up the whole kitchen, “Okay. Is the place where we get clothes far from the ocean?”

Dream shrugs, “It’s like a five minute drive, so not really. But you won’t be able to see the ocean from there, if that’s what you’re asking.”

He turns towards the windows that face the sea and says, “Yeah, I’ve only ever seen the ocean and the aquarium. Does your car have windows?”

With a chuckle, Dream says, “Yes, most cars do. I guess you’ve only ever been in vehicles that don’t.”

George takes a deep breath, “This is going to be crazy.”

“How are your legs?”

The brunet laughs, “They’re fine. Much uglier than my tail. I can’t believe humans manage to swim with these.”

Dream smiles, unable to take his eyes off of him, “We manage. There are actually several sports that involve swimming.”

George shakes his head, turning away from the windows, “Humans are crazy. Can we go to get the clothes now? I want to see things.”

“Yeah, let me change clothes,” Dream says, standing and putting George’s dishes in the sink.

George looks down at himself, “Do I need to change clothes?”

“No, you’re fine, we’re just going to Walmart. We’ll need to find some shoes that work, though,” Dream says, going to the bedroom.

George follows, “Wal…mart?”

“That’s the name of the store,” he explains as he rummages through the closet, “That’s a very human thing. We have brands and stuff. Like, Walmart is one kind of store, but there’s also Target and Kroger and all kinds of other ones.”

“Okay,” George says, watching his every move as he strips off his shirt and puts on another one.

“There are different types of cars too.”

“Like the U-haul?”

“Sort of,” Dream says with a smile as George follows him back to the front door. “Do you remember the U-haul?”

“It’s… fuzzy. I know that was part of the escape situation. Were you there?” George asks, putting his socked feet into the slides Dream had pushed his way.

“Yep.” He stands from tying his own shoes and looks George over with a smile. Dream’s clothes swallow him in fabric and George’s fingers curl around the cuffs of the sweatshirt sleeves. The blond has the urge to take him to bed and snuggle with him until neither of them can stand it anymore. “You look ready for Walmart. Let’s go.”

“What does that mean?” George asks as they get in the car.

Dream laughs, “There’s a whole Walmart culture. It’s hard to explain. Put on your seatbelt.”

“Huh?”

Dream points it out to him and shows him how to buckle it and then he’s finally pulling out of the driveway. Mesmerized by the world outside his window, George falls silent. Dream thought he might ask questions, but perhaps there’s simply too much to ask. He can’t imagine what it’d be like to exist as a human for the first time as a fully developed adult.

It’s silent until they pull into the parking lot when George says, “There are so many people.”

The parking lot isn’t even half full and on a normal day, Dream would say this is a light crowd for Walmart, but looking at it from George’s perspective changes everything.

“The most people I had ever seen in one place before this was when the aquarium was busy and there was a crowd outside of my tank,” George says as they walk in. He’s fascinated by the shopping cart and Dream lets him push it, but he quickly learns that he needs to walk beside it at the front to keep George from running into things when he gets distracted. Inside the store is when the barrage of questions that Dream was expecting comes. He patiently explains everything from frozen pizza rolls to bras.

Although Dream isn’t very fashion-minded, he tries to show George a variety of styles to choose from, but the brunet refuses to budge from the most oversized, warm, and comfortable clothing possible. Dream is unable to say no to him, so they go to checkout with a cart full of sweatshirts, fuzzy blankets, junk food George was interested in, and even a giant stuffed shark that the brunet thought was hilarious.

George’s fascination with everything doesn’t let up when they get home. He wanders around the house asking what different things are for and what they do.

“What’s this?” George asks, picking up a book.

“It’s a book on coding. I was interested in it for a while and taught myself a little,” Dream explains, sitting on the couch.

George flips through it, brow furrowed. “This is English, isn’t it?” he asks, pointing to the page. Dream nods. “I guess I need to learn how to read.”

“Oh shit,” Dream says with a laugh, the understanding that he’s way out of his depth creeping up on him, “I’ll order some beginner books that will teach you how to read. I mean, you already speak English, so it shouldn’t be too hard.”

“Order?”

“Yeah. Remember the internet I explained earlier? I can go on there and order something I want and it will be delivered to the house in a few days,” he explains.

“Woah, that’s epic,” George says, sitting down next to him.

Dream laughs, “I guess it is.”

“What else do I need to learn how to do?”

“Hm, I mean, you may want to learn how to drive. I can teach you how to cook a little, just basic things so you can provide for yourself.”

George thinks on that, eyes drifting to the windows looking out to sea. “Will I need to leave?”

Dream’s heart jumps, “Not if you don’t want to. But when I’m back at work, you’ll be alone here for hours at a time. Unless we can find a way to get you a job.”

“Oh, okay,” George says with a yawn. He grabs one of the blankets they bought and cuddles up with the big shark in the corner of the couch. “Everything is so soft and warm. I never want to be cold again.”

With a laugh, Dream tells him, “You shouldn’t have to worry about that here, except for maybe the chill that comes with some of the thunderstorms.”

“Good,” George grins, “I always wanted to be warm like this.”

“Was the human bed everything you thought it’d be?”

He laughs, “Yes, it was really comfy.” He yawns again, eyes falling closed, “Why didn’t you lay down with me?”

“I…” The words get stuck in Dream’s throat, unsure of what he can even say. He can’t state the truth: that if he finds himself in a bed with George he may not be able to keep himself from holding onto him like his life depends on it. He doesn’t know what the boundaries are. He doesn’t know what George expects, doesn’t know if he should twist truths a little, doesn’t know how much his heart can take. “I just fell asleep out here. I can sleep there tonight if you’re okay with it.”

“Yeah, why not, it’s your bed,” George says dismissively as he drifts off. Dream leaves a glass of water on the table next to him and then goes to occupy himself with something else, desperate to get his mind off of everything.

“Hello?” Dream mumbles as he answers his phone, rubbing his eyes as he’s pulled out of what he was doing on the computer.

“Hey, Dream!” says Sapnap’s cheery voice.

“Oh, hey man. How are you?”

“I’m great! Last day at the aquarium was today, Karl quit a couple of weeks ago.”

“That’s good,” Dream responds, shutting down the computer. “Did anything ever happen when they realized there was no longer a merman?”

A laugh comes down the line, “Not to us. I heard something about a lot of people suing each other, but no one ever really questioned us other than a couple of casual conversations about the whole thing.”

“Thank goodness. I’d forgotten to worry about that.”

“Have you… have you ever seen George again?” asks Sapnap.

It’s Dream’s turn to laugh, “I- yeah, every day. Actually, do you think you and Karl could come visit anytime soon?”

“That’s what I was calling to ask! Neither of us have started new jobs yet and Karl said you might be off for the holiday, so do you think we could come tomorrow? We could have a beach day.”

“Sure, that will work great.”

“Perfect, see you tomorrow!”

“See you tomorrow.”

Dream hangs up and leaves the room to tell George, but panic quickly rises in his throat when he can’t find him in the house. He breathes a sigh of relief when he realizes the brunet is sitting on the porch, curled up in a chair staring out to sea. It gives Dream pause when he realizes that George is just sitting there, no cellphone, book, music, or distraction to speak of. He hopes selfishly that things like that stick; that Geroge never becomes completely human in the way he exists.

Intentionally leaving his phone and any form of distraction inside, Dream steps onto the porch and takes a seat next to George. They listen to the waves without speaking for a long time before Dream asks, “Do you miss it?”

“No,” George answers with little hesitation, “It’s much more beautiful from here.” That assurance eases the anxiety in Dream’s chest. “I want to learn to surf.”

Dream smiles, trading his view of the sea for one of George with sun-kissed cheeks and wind-blown hair. “We could take lessons together. I know how already, but not well enough to teach you.”

“That would be fun.” Dream is amazed at how quickly silences between them have become comfortable again. “I should probably become better at walking first, though.”

“True, true.” Before, their silences were full of longing and heartache, even once George was back in the ocean. Now, although the feeling still lingers for Dream, their silences are full of contentment. “Sapnap and Karl are coming to visit tomorrow.”

“Really?” George’s smile turns on the blond, “I remember them. They helped with the escape.”

Dream tries not to convey the jealousy that pricks at his heart, “Yeah, I’ll be glad to see them again.”

“Me too. Is it dinner time?”

He laughs, “Sure. I’ll teach you how to make grilled cheese.”

Dream has almost forgotten his promise by the time they get ready for bed. He takes a long time putting on his pajamas and stalls in the bathroom, terrified of laying down and missing the person who's right next to him.

George is dozing off by the time he gets in bed and turns off the light, so he tries his best to relax and just sleep. But then the brunet says in a sleepy voice, "What's that thing humans do where they, you know, pile on top of each other. I can't think of the word."

Dream chuckles, "There are a few things that could be, George, you'll have to be more specific."

"It's like… it's in bed. I'm sure I know the word," George mumbles, "Oh! Cuddling, it's cuddling. Can we do that?"

Dream chews on his lip, the fact that he's wanted exactly this for so long and the fact that this man remembers nothing about him warring in his head. "I… yeah, sure."

The words are hardly out of his mouth before George is cuddling up to him, one arm draped over his chest and nose tucked into his neck. "You're so warm," George sighs, voice muffled by Dream's t-shirt.

He laughs, "Was it cold in the ocean?"

George turns his head to speak better and his breath ghosts over Dream's neck when he talks. "I don't think it's the same as the type of cold you have with cold weather. It's… ocean cold, water cold. The only times I was ever warm is when I was in the sun. My body was built to withstand it, but I was always cold. It wasn't something I thought about much. But it’s so different from this."

"I don't want you to ever be cold again," Dream says, hand running up and down George’s back.

"Did we ever…" George hesitates, "Did we ever cuddle before?"

"Twice," Dream answers after a beat, "But different than this because we were in water and you had a tail."

He laughs against his skin and Dream is sure he's going to combust. "I bet I liked it because you're so warm. I can’t believe you deprived me of this last night."

"I was nervous," Dream defends with a pout.

"Why?" George asks, fingertips tapping against Dream’s ribs.

"I just was. Still am."

"Is it because of how we were before?"

Dream sighs, the long exhale seeping out of his lungs and pressing him into the mattress. George's arm is a welcome weight on his chest. "You could say that."

"Will you tell me?" George asks through a yawn.

"Maybe."

"Okay." He stifles another yawn, "Goodnight, Dream."

"Goodnight."

Dream hasn’t had a night of sleep that good in years. He wakes still wrapped up in blankets and George, laughing to himself about the odd angles George’s legs have ended up in. Echoes of folds from the pillowcase are pressed into George’s cheek and his hair is a mess. Dream fights the urge to lean over and kiss his forehead, instead gently extracting himself from the bed and going to get dressed.

He’s in the middle of making breakfast when George gets up and enters the kitchen with the comforter wrapped around himself. “You’d bring the whole bed with you if you could, wouldn’t you?” Dream asks with a laugh.

“Mhm,” George says, balancing on a stool and melting onto the counter.

“I don’t know exactly what time Karl and Sapnap will get here, but we’ll go to the beach once they do,” Dream says, setting an omelet in front of George.

“Oh no, I have to learn how to swim with legs,” George groans as he extracts his hand from the fabric to pick up his fork.

Dream laughs, already sure that it’s going to be hilarious, “Don’t worry, I’ll help you.”

All morning, Dream goes back and forth trying to decide whether he should send them a text explaining the situation. They’ll assume George still knows him. In fact, he hadn’t told Sapnap that George is no longer a merman.

His mulling doesn’t get him anywhere and neither George nor Sapnap nor Karl are apprised of the situation by the time a knock sounds on the door. Dream pulls it open, barely throwing a glance back at George in the living room.

“Hey, Dream, good to see you!” says Sapnap as he offers a hug. Karl follows and only after this reunion do either of the guests notice the fourth person in the house. George stands quietly in the hall, sweatshirt hanging on his shoulders and hair messy from a nap.

Karl is the first to speak, “George?”

George grins, “Hey, Karl.”

“What?” says Sapnap.

Dream moves to stand next to George, fighting the urge to grab his hand or place an arm around his shoulders. “Yeah, so, our neighbor is a witch and she made George human.”

He feels George’s eyes on him briefly before the brunet gives a little wave and a “Hi.”

“Oh my god, that’s crazy!”

“That’s nuts, dude!”

The boyfriends hug George, still baffled by this development. Surprisingly, though, the day moves on smoothly and Karl and Sapnap take George as a human in stride, much the same way they quickly accepted that he was intelligent back when he was a merman.

George still has trouble walking on sand, so Dream helps him down to the water while Karl and Sapnap carry towels, drinks, and sunscreen.

“What’s that? Why are you putting it on your body?” George asks from his spot sitting on a towel as they lather themselves in sunscreen.

“It’s sunscreen,” says Karl, “Keeps you from getting burned.”

“You’ll have to wear it now,” Dream says, walking over to him and holding it out, “Gotta be careful about your face and shoulders.”

“I still don’t understand,” George says more quietly to Dream, casting a glance toward Sapnap and Karl who are joking around and applying sunscreen to each other.

Dream smiles slightly, eyes raking over the confusion on George’s face. “Human skin, especially lighter variations, gets burned when it’s in the sun too long because of the heat and the radiation or whatever. So if you don’t put on sunscreen your skin will get really red and it’ll hurt and the burned skin will eventually peel off.”

“Peel off!? Are you kidding?” George laughs, reaching out to slap his hand.

Dream laughs with him, “No, seriously, that’s how it works. Here, let me put it on you. Unless you want to see for yourself.” He pours some into his palm.

“No! I’ve had enough transformations, I don’t want my skin to peel off!” George says, standing unsteadily and facing away from Dream like he’d seen Karl and Sapnap do.

“Gonna be cold,” Dream mumbles just as Geroge flinches from the cool sunscreen touching his skin. The taller man hadn’t considered the intimacy of the moment until he’s halfway through it. George’s goosebumps fade under his hands as he rubs in the lotion, and his shoulders and neck relax. Dream can’t help but notice the scars still leftover from his previous life and the stretch marks left on his hips by the transformation.

“I guess my skin before had some kind of protective layer,” George comments thoughtfully. He tilts his head back, eyes closed and face toward the sun, “I think I’m still going to love laying in the sun.”

Reluctantly pulling his hands away, Dream replies, “All the more reason to know about sunscreen.”

George turns around, grin loose and eyes squinty, “Thanks.”

Dream hands him the tube of lotion, “You’re welcome.” He feels examined when George’s eyes linger on his expression slightly too long and he forces himself to take a steadying breath and look away.

“Dream…” It’s barely a word, reaching only Dream’s ears over the sound of the waves.

“We’re getting in!” Sapnap says, diverting their attention.

“Okay!”

Dream’s eyes swing back to George, finding a mix of emotions on his face that quickly dissipate with a slight shake of his head. “I can do your back,” he offers, holding up the tube of sunscreen.

The taller man turns around, muscles tense in anticipation of George’s touch. His hands feel small sprawled upon Dream’s shoulders and they quickly lose their hesitance as he draws his palms down Dream’s shoulder blades and along the planes of his back. Fingertips linger at his waist and Dream wonders if he was ever this close to another merperson, wonders if he’s thinking about his tail.

“Okay.”

Dream turns back around and picks up the sunscreen, avoiding his eyes and trying not to think about the few times George’s hands were on him before, when George knew who he was, when there was something like love between them. “Alright, put some on your face and chest, then I guess you’re going to learn to swim again.”

When he throws a grin up at him in order to lighten the mood, Dream isn’t prepared for the gaze he meets. The depth of the ocean is right there in George’s eyes and the way he looks at him is exactly the way he did before. It takes Dream’s breath away how much it looks like his merman George and everything seems to freeze.

It’s broken by George holding his hand out for the sunscreen, “Swimming with legs is going to be horrible.”

Dream’s arm around George’s waist, they finally make their way to the ocean. When the surf washes over his toes, George laughs, “That feels crazy.” He looks up at Dream with a grin brighter than the sun, “Toes are weird.”

With a laugh, Dream says, “Yeah, most humans don’t even like them.”

Slowly and steadily, they make their way into the sea, George relaxing more and more with every step, effortlessly moving with the waves as they crash over them. Once they’re deep enough, George leans back to float, clutching Dream’s arm to get the balance right. “My tail was heavier,” he comments as he finds equilibrium and lets go.

His dark hair fans out around his head and Dream fights away memories from before, desperate to treasure the present. Sapnap and Karl come over and launch an attack, disturbing George’s peace and quickly helping him learn how to use his legs to swim under pressure.

George and Karl argue over which couple won while Karl teaches George how to build a sandcastle. Several yards away, Dream and Sapnap sit on towels sipping their drinks. “What’s up between you two?” Sapnap asks, evidently having picked up on the fact that they haven’t been acting like a couple.

Dream sighs and finishes off his drink before answering, “He has no memories of me.”

“What?”

“In order to become human, he had to forget who I am,” he explains.

“Damn,” Sapnap says, taking a sip, “That’s rough. Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Dream says with a shrug, “I’d rather have him here without all his memories than suffering in the sea.”

“Fair enough,” Sapnap responds. After a few moments of reflection, Dream proposes that they join in on the building of the sandcastle. By the time the structure is complete, they’re starving for lunch.

“So, nothing has happened at the aquarium since we freed George?” Dream asks between bites of his sandwich.

“Nope,” says Sapnap, leaning over to let Karl wipe mustard off his mouth, “And we’ve both quit now. I think they got some new sharks.”

“We’re going to move to the west coast we’ve decided,” Karl says, “Work somewhere closer to the water.”

“Oh, that’ll be great,” says Dream, “We’ll have to come visit you, I’ve heard the west coast is beautiful.”

“Pacific is cold,” George states, “The gulf is warmest but it sucks, so I prefer the Atlantic. And the merpeople in the Atlantic are nicer than the ones in the Pacific.”

“We should befriend one over there!” Karl nearly yells.

“I just told you they’re rude!” George says, pointing the neck of his soda bottle at him.

“But we’re nice,” Sapnap counters, “Can we name drop you?”

George laughs, “Considering I was out of the ocean for five years, I don’t think anyone will know my name anymore.”

“Wow,” Karl breathes, sharing a look with Sapnap, “Do you miss it?”

George shrugs, “I did somewhat when I was a merman, but not now. It’s warm up here.” Dream smiles.

When they get back in the water, Dream grabs his surfboard. George elects not to try it yet, but Dream attempts to coach Sapnap and Karl. Sapnap manages to stand up a few times and Karl only once. As the sun sets over the water, they swim out to the sandbar, Dream on the surfboard and George using it to steady himself.

Karl and Sapnap try to drown each other while Dream and George watch the sun’s display. Dream turns to look at George and finds the other man is already staring at him, mouth slightly open and eyes distant. “George?”

“We’ve done this before, haven’t we?”

“What?”

“You’ve laid on the board and I was in the water. Before,” George says, tone begging Dream to tell him he’s remembering correctly.

“Yeah,” Dream grins, placing his hand over George’s on the board, “Yeah, that did happen. After we started swimming together a lot once I moved.”

The brunet grins, “So maybe some of the memories will come back.”

“Maybe they will,” Dream says softly.

After going out to dinner with Sapnap and Kar and telling them goodbye, the two men are exhausted when they get home. They get straight into pajamas and snuggle up in bed, skin pink and bodies tired.

Dream is nearly asleep when George speaks up, “Dream… I was going to say earlier. Well, ask earlier. When we were… doing the sunscreen. Do you– did you love me before?” His question is met with silence in which Dream reels, unprepared for this conversation. More quietly, scared of the answer, George says next, “Did I love you before?”

He takes a deep breath, glad the lights are out, “I loved you before. You told me you loved me before you went through the transformation.”

“Do you love me now?”

The room is quiet, but every sound becomes amplified. His own heartbeat, George’s breathing, the hum of the air conditioner, and even the faint sound of the waves fill his ears. He doesn’t really even think about his answer, there isn’t enough room in his head. “Yes.”

George’s arm over his chest pulls him impossibly closer and he nuzzles his face into Dream’s shoulder. He breathes, “I’m trying.”

Arm around his shoulders, Dream squeezes him in a makeshift hug, “You’re here. That’s what matters.”

“I want to remember.”

“Maybe you will,” Dream says gently, “But if you don’t, we’ll just make new memories.”

“Okay,” he snuggles in closer, “Okay.”

In the middle of the night, Dream wakes up. It takes him a moment to realize what woke him, but he realizes when he hears George murmur in his sleep, “No… help.” His breathing is fast and compulsively Dream starts running his fingers through the other man’s hair.

George shifts in bed, a hand reaching up in his sleep to claw at his neck. He moves restlessly and Dream whispers, “You’re okay, George.” The nightmare seems to reach a climax and George jerks, waking with a gasp.

He touches his face, finding a few tears on his cheeks. Wordlessly, he turns and curls into Dream. Once his breathing slows down, he whispers, “I had a nightmare that we were drowning.”

Dream keeps running his fingers through his hair, “You’re safe, George. I won’t let you drown.”

Dream has to go to work the next day, so he cooks George breakfast and tells him to go over to Betsy and Howard’s if he gets bored. When Dream comes home, pants damp from fixing a sink and hands greasy from getting halfway through an oven repair, he finds George and Howard at the kitchen table and Betsy at the stove.

“Hey, Dream!” George says, looking more energetic than he has since the transformation.

“Sorry to have invaded your home, dear,” Betsy says, “I’m making chicken soup.”

“No problem,” Dream says, hanging up his keys, “I’m gonna go wash up.”

Standing in a hot shower, Dream tries to place the scene he walked in on in his head. He hasn’t come home to a house this full since before he moved out of his childhood home, and even then, it was just his mom and sister. He needs to invite them to come see his new house, come to think of it.

He emerges from the bedroom in fresh clothes just as Betsy is dishing out the soup. The four of them squeeze together at one side of the table to avoid spilling on Howard’s old field notes that had been shoved to the side. George explains that they had been going through them for half the day and telling each other stories of the ocean.

They finish out the night on the deck, drinks of choice in hand. Howard and George had returned to the topic of the ocean. It’s the first time George has sounded at all like he has missed it. He’s describing playing tag with an octopus in a reef that he wasn’t very familiar with. Dream watches his face, all animated and excited, remembering the excitement of the chase. “I swam through a gap in the reef and I almost grabbed him… but then it was over.”

Howard, who had been staring out at the dark ocean, misses his tone as asks, “What happened?”

“I was captured. I wasn’t paying attention. I woke up in the aquarium,” George says, all animation and excitement gone.

Dream starts to fight the urge to reach for his hand, but decides to give into it tonight. If he doesn’t like it, he can pull his hand away. But when Dream reaches over to place his hand over George’s on the arm of his chair, George turns his palm up and laces their fingers together. It feels natural. It feels right. He sips his drink.

“I’m so sorry about what happened, George,” Betsy says.

He squeezes Dream’s hand and meets his eyes, “It’s alright. I guess if it hadn’t I never would have met Dream.”

The blonde looks into his eyes and smiles, realizing that he doesn’t know if George means the first or second time they met and deciding that he doesn’t care.

They stay on the deck even after Howard and Betsy leave, hand in hand. After a while, George says, “Dream, can you tell me about the first time we met?”

He takes a deep breath and gives George’s hand a squeeze, “Well, I was changing a lightbulb…”

At George’s urging, he doesn't stop after their first meeting.

By the time Dream says “... and then you drank the potion that turned you into a human,” tears are sliding down George’s face. The sun has long set and the waves crash the same as they always have on the shore, a constant background noise in their lives.

After a while, George says, “You've saved my life so many times. And yet here I am, unable to even remember it. Just because I wanted to become human. I didn’t think enough about how it would feel for you.”

“I’m glad you did it, George,” Dream says, stroking his thumb along the back of the smaller man’s hand.

“Really?”

“Yes. Now that I’ve told you all that I remember, it’s almost like you never forgot. And now I’ve had you in my bed. You seem happy. You don’t have to live in fear. You needed to become human and I don’t want you to regret it.”

Dream stares out at the ocean, but he can feel George looking at him. His gaze is always so steady. Just like when he was still a merman, it’s like he can see right through Dream. The blonde man always had the sense that George could see him thinking. It’s just the same now. George’s thoughts, however, are a mystery until he starts to stand, pulling on Dream’s hand and saying, “Let’s go down to the water.”

“To swim?” Dream asks, standing with him and stumbling behind him as he heads for the sand.

George shrugs and gives a little laugh, “I don’t know, we might get wet.”

Dream pulls off his shirt and it lands on a deck chair. Laughing, he manages to wrangle George out of his sweatshirt before they reach the end of the boardwalk, reminding him that he’ll be sad later if it gets wet. That piece of clothing lands on the railing and then they’re walking through the sand, George grabbing onto Dream for support because he’s still not totally solid on his feet.

They wade into the water pressed into each other’s sides. George shouts nonsense and splashes in the water, spraying Dream in the process. He laughs and splashes him in turn. “What’d you want to come down to the water for George?” Dream watches him as he stands a few feet away, still and looking out at the horizon. His skin is pale in the moonlight. Even with his legs under him, he looks more like his old self than he ever has in this moment.

“I don’t know,” he says, coming back over and throwing his arms around the other man. “I want to remember,” he murmurs, mostly to himself.

Dream picks him up and spins him around, trying to make him laugh. It brings their faces close together and the taller man feels the overwhelming urge to kiss Goerge.

The decision is made for him when the brunette leans in and kisses him hard on the mouth. Dream stumbles and they collapse into the water, giggling against each other. Hand on the back of his neck, Dream kisses him again desperately, holding onto George like he’s going to dissolve in his hands. George grasps for him too, hands slipping in the water, unconcerned about breathing.

Dream’s thumb slides down the side of George’s neck, running over the scars of his closed gills. George shivers against him and finally pulls back, gasping for breath and frantically searching Dream’s face.

“Dream.”

“What is it?” Dream asks, sitting up.

“Dream.” His eyes are wide and they search not only Dream’s face, but his body and the ocean around them.

“George, what’s wrong?” Dream asks, running his hands down George’s sides just to get rid of his irrational fear that the man is turning back into a merman.

“Dream, I remember.”

His hands come up to hold George’s face between them. “What? George, are you serious?”

A smile breaks out across George’s face, “Yes, yes I remember. You didn’t tell me that you brought me good fish at the aquarium. You didn’t say that you didn’t come to see me the first few weeks after you moved. And you really didn’t tell me how close I actually was to dying when you brought me to the ocean.”

Dream laughs and pulls him back in for a kiss. They kiss and laugh until they get tired of being in the water, so Dream helps George walk back up to the house. Before they go inside, George grabs him and kisses him again, saying “And you said you want to have sex on the beach.”

He throws his head back and laughs, squeezing Goerge’s hip, “And I still do, if you’ll have me.”

From that night forward, the light banter they’d had at the aquarium returns and Dream is happier than he ever has been in his life. He gives George a proper human sexual education and then proceeds to show him that education in action.

Before the end of the year, they decide to get married so that George has more legal documents to his name. Karl, Sapnap, Betsy, and Howard are the only ones in attendance. Howard helps them fake the papers for a marine biology degree for George so that he can get a job at a local aquarium. He works his way up the chain of command and by the end of his thirties is a well- known activist for the humane treatment of creatures housed in aquariums. Dream contributes however he can, always speaking fiercely about how important it is that aquariums provide the correct habitats and avoid capturing rare species whenever they can.

Dream keeps working handyman jobs, happy with the flexible hours that allow him to attend George’s presentations at the aquarium and eventually at conferences.

They keep their small house on the beach even when George starts making enough that they could move. They invest in a boat and George can never be kept away from the ocean for long. He starts calling it his second home once he learns what the term means, and most people that he says it to don’t know that it was really his first home.

Neither of them dream of drowning ever again. When people ask how they met, they just say that they bumped into each other when Dream had a job pressure washing an aquarium’s merman exhibit.