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Kyrie and Melody were finally happy. Finally trusted each other. Finally at a place they could do something special. Something that only the two could do together. A trip across the oceans.

Everything was planned. The stops at ports. Places to stay that only took cash. Ways to hide her appearance. Each thing meticulous as she finally used saved up vacation time to take a whole month off. The one thing she didn’t plan, or rather that she couldn’t plan for, was an email from her parents. An email saying they planned to come visit.

One tiny little email changed everything. Suddenly her entire home was a problem. Caprice ran off to tell the others, Kyrie especially, while she got to work. Spell components that her brother brought in, bits of scales the two had grabbed, things from too deep in the water. All of it had to be hidden. An entire part of their life had to disappear.

Memories of times before she moved out here helped to keep her focused. The amount of control her parents demanded over her life after that night. The way her dad glared at her every time Caprice discussed his choice to be a mechanic. The drunken rants on nights he came home late. Blaming her for everything that had gone wrong in their lives. If only she’d listened…

“Mel!” Caprice pulled her from her thoughts. From bad memories. “Byss knows a cave he can hide our stuff in. Kyrie is moping down at the beach.”

“Right…” Melody muttered. Caprice walked up and put his hand on her shoulder.

“We can tell them not to come, you can still leave even.” Soft words. Just beneath them she could hear the pain he felt himself.

“No… No, I'm fine. I…”

“I’ll finish packing stuff and start giving it to Byss. Go see Kyrie, before he starts whining. It’s annoying when he does.”

Melody laughed as Caprice pulled the box she almost forgot about from her hands. A gentle shove got her feet moving. Caprice wasn’t as gentle as he dropped remnants of the merfolk into the box. It made this feel easier. Almost at the door, she paused. The blanket for the trip was left out… Melody grabbed it as she finally went outside.

The air smelled of rain. It reminded her of a time after just meeting Kyrie. When he couldn’t understand and she had a dream. In the back of her mind she worried the others didn’t understand. As if they wanted to hide the three from their human lives. It wasn’t like that, but how could they ever explain?

“Melody?” Byssal’s voice made her flinch. She turned around to find the green merman towering over her. This cliff felt so much taller before meeting him and Kyrie. She wanted to say something, but nothing felt right. How could she apologize for hiding them from humans? Humans that knew about sirens and would try to make her leave. That she could barely say no to when they did try to control her…

“Byss, put your hand here!” Cap’s voice pulled the stern gaze off her. Melody took it as her chance to run. Eventually they’d explain… maybe once their parents were gone.

Melody gasped once her feet hit the sand. She’d forgotten to put on shoes. As hard as it was to admit, she wasn’t ready for this. Her parents were a lot, even before her voice. The fights while they were kids. Arguments about her future, about Caprice’s future. Their parents did their best… that didn’t mean it was good.

A chirp brought out her smile. When she looked toward the sound an indescribable blue met her. Kyrie looked worried, almost scared. She could understand, his first family wasn’t great either. Kyrie chirped again, Melody nodded. 

He reached forward and wrapped his massive fingers around her. Gently, he pulled her closer to himself. She laughed as one of his fingers adjusted to act as a seat, keeping her feet just off the ground. He only stopped moving her when he could press his nose into her chest. Like this it was easy to consider what Cap said. Just leave, let him handle it. If it was their mom she would, but not their dad.

“Hey,” she whispered.

“Are you scared?” he asked. She started to pet his nose.

“No, why do you think that?”

A whine. “Caprice sounded scared.” The fingers grew tighter, his nose pressed a bit heavier against her.

“I guess… Yeah maybe a little. Of them finding out about you, Byss, and Pel. What would happen if they did…”

“I can-”

“You can do nothing. They won’t tell anyone… it’s not that I think they’d do anything…” She didn’t finish the thought. They wouldn’t do anything to him, but to her she knew they’d try. Caprice and Aria had to fight to get their parents to let her move here.

Kyrie whined against her. She could picture Caprice’s annoyed face. It made her chuckle. Melody shifted as best she could on his fingers to lay against his nose. Kyrie shifted himself closer to the water. Waves touched the tips of her toes.

“It’ll be fine, I’ll be fine,” she promised. “I’m sorry about our trip. Maybe I can extend my vacation.”

Kyrie whined again. “Not your fault.”

“I’m still sorry… I was kind of excited, even to be out in the water.”

Melody jumped when a loud purr erupted out of Kyrie. It made her laugh. He would be happy to hear that. She hadn’t been very willing to go out into the water since those mers tried to take her from him. There wasn’t any risk of something like that now. Honestly she was more scared of herself. Losing track of where she was, humming something where the water could carry her voice too far.

“Oh, before I forget,” Melody tapped his nose twice to make him back away. Smiling once his head was hovering over her. “I don’t know how long my parents will be here. So we can use this blanket I bought for the trip as a signal.”

Kyrie tilted his head. So much of how he acted seemed to bleed innocence. An opposite to her in more ways than she could count. An amazing thing. Melody slid off his fingers. As soon as she landed Kyrie’s face was as close to her as he could get. Far enough he could still see her. She unfolded the blanket and held a corner up in each hand.

“When it’s safe to come close I’ll come down to the beach, hold the blanket up like this, and shake it exactly three times,” Melody shook the blanket as she spoke. “You can see this from far enough away we can’t see you right?”

Kyrie leaned closer and took a deep breath. She knew he was taking her scent, it always made her shudder. She trusted him, but it wasn’t easy to push away every underlying nerve. Then he was gone. The warmth, the towering presence, as if he never existed. It wasn’t hard to guess what he was doing, so she shook the blanket every few seconds.

Water splashed her legs as a shadow covered her. Massive fingers, almost wider than she was tall, surrounded her. Melody lowered the blanket, smiling when she found Kyrie’s eyes above her. A smile of sharp teeth covered his face. Soon enough he nodded at her.

“I can see it. I can’t tell if it’s you until I’m here,” he said. She took to folding the blanket as he lowered his head again. “Is that ok?”

The tip of Kyrie’s nose was close. Melody leaned forward and kissed him. A new purr made her laugh again.

“That’s fine, I’ll hide this in the house so no one else can find it. We may not be able to do the trip we planned, but we’ll figure something out.”

Kyrie’s lips crashed into her. His palm behind her. A total force of nature focused solely on her. It was amazing. Melody kissed the part of his lip against her face. This was something her parents would see as dangerous. A risk that he’d kill her. She used to, before she knew the real Kyrie. The one that reminded her of a lost puppy sometimes. If only she could show that side to her parents…

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Caprice had his own panic as he emptied his room. If he wanted, he could leave. Never see their parents again. Sometimes they were fine, but after Melody’s voice… He didn’t want to see their reaction to him being a merman, let alone how much bigger he was as one.

It was almost easy to put each box in Byssal’s hand. So easy he was tempted to climb on and stay there the whole time. He didn’t want to deal with the judgment. Every choice he’d ever made under scrutiny. It would be worse if they decided to start bothering him about dating again. He had no interest, but that wasn’t enough for them. Melody was the only way he could handle them both together. At least it shouldn’t be too long… —----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After all the panic, their parents arrived without incident. Nothing to reveal the merfolk was discovered as they settled in. No awkward questions or the expected digs. All in all, less chaotic than Melody expected. Even a family dinner was moving calmly. She and Caprice cooked without their mother commenting on every move. The pressure of the visit hadn’t faded though.

“So… how have things been with you two living out here?” their mother, Rhapsody, asked.

“They’ve been fine,” Caprice answered.

“Good I’m glad to hear that!”

“No more incidents?” their father, Dearan, asked. Melody immediately deflated. He blamed her when her voice first started and blamed her when Caprice was being held by her former manager. 

“No. I still don’t go out much anyway so we can’t have any incidents,” she mumbled.

It got a nod. A silence that was painfully familiar settled over them again. All too common. Aria had a little of the siren’s song in her voice, but not enough to do more than bring attention. Caprice had none. Rhapsody had more than Aria. Her voice faded after Melody and Caprice were born apparently…

For a while the only noise was clacking of utensils against plates. Melody wanted to leave, go hide in her office. Pretend she had some work to do. Maybe start altering her plans for when she could actually go travel with Kyrie. She was so excited to go…

“Mel?” Caprice asked. She jumped. All eyes were focused on her, full of concern. She’d clearly missed something.

“Sorry, I’m a little worn out. Work’s been kind of rough lately,” she laughed.

“Good thing you took so much time off!” Rhapsody laughed.

Melody stiffened. She didn’t mention that to anyone. She forced a smile on her face and laughed along. Caprice had a glare on his face. He would have told her if he told them.

“Yeah, um when did I tell you about that?” she asked. Dearan cleared his throat.

“Your mother’s friend told us,” he said.

“That’s right I forgot to tell you,” Rhapsody smiled. “Anthony, you know his son Andrew? He started working for your company. He mentioned he was working under someone named Melody. I just knew it was you! I had him find out the last name and found out I was right.”

“I-I see. That makes sense. I completely forgot about Anthony.” Melody made a mental note to kill Andrew when her vacation was over. At least tell him not to spread when she was taking time off to his dad. “Well yeah. I’ve done a lot of late nights recently so I decided to take a while off.”

“Just like the rest of our family. Always going overboard. You aren’t doing too much are you?”

“No, mom. I’m fine. Just thought it was time to use up some of the time off I’ve been saving the last few years.”

“Speaking of time off,” Dearan cleared his throat, “have you made any choices about a new job… Caprice?”

“No, I'm still taking online classes.” Caprice was barely audible. Dearan put his elbows on the table and set his head on his laced fingers.

“Could have done that while working at that garage.”

“I didn’t want to.”

“You always take the easy way. Quit when things seem a little tough.”

“I needed a break after being kidnapped.”

That gave the room for another silence to settle over them. Long enough they finished eating. Melody cleared the table with Caprice’s help. He bumped her shoulder, silent reassurance things would be fine. It wasn’t fine though. There was a reason behind this visit. One she couldn’t figure out. Their parents didn’t do things like this without reason.

“Melody, why don’t you make some coffee and tea and we can keep talking in the living room?” her mother called. 

Melody didn’t bother answering. She knew better; it wasn’t a question. If she didn’t do it there’d be a lot of passive aggression sent her way. Caprice took care of the coffee for himself and Rhapsody. The two usually had it the same. Melody handled the tea for herself and Dearan. He took it with a bit of milk, she used milk and sugar.

“Got the drinks, just how everyone likes,” Caprice said, handing a cup to Rhapsody as the two walked into the living room. Melody handed her second cup to Dearan and claimed a corner of the couch. Curling up, trying to look small. She hadn’t done that around Kyrie or the others in so long… 

“It’s so nice to be with you two again,” Rhapsody sighed. “I tried to get Aria to come along, but she wasn’t interested. She kept saying you’d be upset if we didn’t ask. I knew my favorite twins wouldn’t mind.”

“Right… of course not…” Melody tried not to let her annoyance show.

Another bout of silence. She was fine with it. The sweet tea distracted her. It was hard to keep her questions to herself. Why were they here? How long would they be here? Why did Dearan come along? He’d never really been close to her or Caprice.

“So… are you still seeing that guy you told me about?” Rhapsody asked. “What was his name again?”

“Kyrie? Yes… I’m still seeing him,” Melody smiled into her tea. She might try to sneak down to the beach in the middle of the night, her parents weren’t the type to wake up easily.

“When am I meeting this guy? Has Caprice met him?” Dearan asked. His voice was full of concern. She couldn’t help wondering if it was concern for Kyrie and not her…

“I’ve talked to him,” Caprice said. Saying they met could cause trouble.

“Well what do you think of him?” 

Melody’s eyes went wide. She turned to look at Caprice, almost shocked to find him just as stunned. They never talked about Cap’s opinion on Kyrie. A kind of unspoken rule. He wouldn’t judge her and she wouldn’t push him. Dearan cleared his throat again. He was waiting and wanted an answer.

“He’s… fine,” Caprice sighed. Melody bit her lip and looked away. That would never be enough for their dad.

“Just fine?”

“He worries about her. Would rather kill himself than let her cry. I don’t really see a problem.” Caprice shrugged. “Besides, it's her choice. Who cares what I think.”

“I’m not letting just anyone have my youngest daughter.”

“You wouldn’t be letting anyone have me anyway,” Melody mumbled. That got her a glare from Dearan. Tension started to fill the air. He clearly didn’t like that she wouldn’t take his opinion into account in her love life. As if he was stable enough for that.

Rhapsody clapped to gain attention, “ Anyway , tell us about him. What does he do for work?”

Another thing that caught her off guard. Somehow she assumed all the conveniently ended phone calls would stop this kind of question. That was too hopeful. Melody took a long slow sip of her tea to think. Caprice shot her a worried look.

“He’s… I guess you would call him a guardian,” Melody said. She was always good at manipulating the truth. This was the best time to make use of that.

“Oh, do you mean for kids?” her mother asked.

“No… more like anyone who needs it…”

“Ahh, a bodyguard then.” Melody gave a non-commital shrug. That was an accepted yes if her mother’s nod meant anything.

“He’s good at his job,” Caprice added.

Melody gave him a smile. He did not return it. There would be a hushed conversation in a few hours when their parents were asleep. 

“Does he have chances for growth?” Dearan’s turn to ask questions.

“He has grown a lot since we met,” Melody nodded.

“How about drive?”

“I’d say he’d tear apart anyone that posed a challenge.”

“So it’s a risky line of work? He takes dangerous jobs?”

“No.. I’d say he’s intimidating enough there’s not much risk, he’d devour any that came his way if it happened.”

“Why would you-”

“Dad! Did I tell you I was thinking about going back to college?” Caprice jumped in. He sent Melody a glare.

“We can talk about that after. Melody what did you-” 

“I was thinking about marine life or folklore for a major. Maybe learn more about the whole siren thing. Find a way to make it easier.”

“I see.” Dearan answered through gritted teeth.

Caprice was the best at ending conversations. Although siren was the magic word. If that was brought up everyone would go silent. He and Melody were the two that wouldn’t accept that. That wanted answers. It was a hidden, shameful thing… That felt wrong now. Melody was almost proud of who she was. She wondered if Caprice was kind of proud too.

Rhapsody cleared her throat after a few minutes, clearly unhappy with the silence, “So Caprice, have you met anyone lately?”

“I don’t go out so no,” he sighed.

“You really should, your sister has someone. Aren’t you lonely?”

“I’m fine, mom.”

“Caprice, we did talk about this. Maybe you shouldn’t live out here anymore. It’s probably making it hard to find someone. Melody you-”

“Mom, did I tell you the nightmares started to get worse again? The siren ones. Do you have any idea how to help with those yet? You said you’d ask the other sirens you knew,” Melody cut Rhapsody off. The woman looked away.

“No… not yet.”

The two topics that shut their parents down brought ‘family time’ to an end. Rhapsody went right to the guest room. Likely to avoid Melody stopping her to discuss the nightmares. Dearan made his way to the kitchen. He liked to drink after thinking about the sirens. Too bad Melody and Caprice didn’t drink much; he’d be disappointed.

Caprice walked towards the guest room. He’d given up half way through clearing out his usual room opting to move for a while instead. At the door he turned to face her. With a stern look he brought his hand up and curled his index finger toward himself a few times. Melody reluctantly followed him into the room.

“What the hell were you thinking?” he growled.

“I was just answering their questions,” she tried to play innocent. She had made a bad call, told too much of the truth. She knew that.

“There’s no way-” Caprice’s voice rose as he spoke, but he was cut off by a slam on the door.

“Your mother’s sleeping keep it down!” Dearan screamed. Melody and Caprice shared a look. Mirrored eye rolls before he nodded towards the window. Melody nodded back.

In no time Caprice opened it and climbed out. Melody climbed out a bit slower. She needed a chair to help her, couldn’t jump up and pull herself out like Caprice. Once outside Melody led them. All the way down to the beach, just far enough the water couldn’t accidentally touch him. It felt like the first time she could breathe in hours. She sat with one knee up to her chest.

“I forgot how… stifling mom and dad could be,” she sighed.

“You’re not getting off that easy,” Caprice sat next to her. “What the hell were you thinking? Telling mom and dad he’s a guardian was bad enough. At least they’re used to you being weird, but he ‘devours’ threats in his way?!”

“I didn’t wanna lie, Cap.”

“We always used to. Nothing’s changed.”

“...I think a lot has.”

“Nah, if it did they’d notice right away.” Caprice leaned his head on her shoulder. She leaned her own on his head.

“Caprice, I can actually use my voice like in the stories. You turn into a, what? Twenty foot long fish?” She let out a dry laugh. “Things have changed.”

“I think it’s bigger than that, but it’s not that bad. We just play along. Aria always told us it would help deal with mom and dad.”

“Maybe… I just don’t think I can lie about him. I don’t know, this time it’s different. They aren’t going to accept him either way.”

“I mean, if they meet him I’ll just show them what that ‘allergy’ of mine does.”

The two sat quietly for a bit. Just existing free of the pressure they were under. It had always been easy before. Be who they expect and avoid arguments. Now it was hard. Now… now they knew who they were.

“Thanks for stopping mom,” Caprice mumbled.

“Thanks for stopping dad,” Melody smiled.

They settled back into silence. After a bit, Caprice stood and walked towards the water. Melody hummed a song as he did. He tossed his shirt at her, landing it squarely on her head. She made a face as she pulled it off. Already waist deep in the water she understood why. At night they could be themselves. At night they were a siren and an oceanid.

—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Almost a week passed with only minor arguments. More questions she’d been dodging about Kyrie. Stuff about his family, where he lives, when they’d meet. Caprice did amazing at changing the subject when it happened. 

Caprice dealt with more questions about his career. Love life. Love preferences. Melody made sure to cause a problem each time.

Night was the only period of calm. When she and Caprice would sneak out. He’d go off swimming, she’d watch from the beach. Sing some soft songs, just far enough the water couldn’t touch her when the tides came in. Each night they’d stay out until just before the sun rose.

After the fifth night out in a row, she gave up going to her own room. She fell asleep on Caprice’s bed, like when they were kids. It became a rare occasion of a good dream. She was on the beach with Pelago. The mermaid was playing with Melody’s hair. Caprice was out in the water, Kyrie and Byssal doing something with him. They were too far out for her to see. It was peaceful, warm, something she wanted all her life. Something that happened pretty often in her reality. Something she wanted to keep.

When she woke up her heart hurt. She wanted that peaceful warmth back. The time with her parents felt cold in comparison. Caprice and Dearan fought often. Usually about his future. She fought with Rhapsody. About her attitude, how she would speak out, how stubborn she was. Aria it was always how she didn’t listen, didn’t try hard enough. None of the kids could escape it. 

It took more than an hour for her to finally leave the room. It took that long to accept the warmth was still gone. Caprice smirked at her when she opened his door. He was sitting on the couch with Dearan. She walked over and sat on a chair near them. Honestly she was still tired, but going back to sleep wouldn’t do any good. It would just make her heart ache more.

“Thought you were going to sleep all day,” Dearan said. She shrugged. The comment left a silence that felt wrong.

“Where’s mom?” she asked.

“She went down to the beach a few minutes ago. At first she was gonna do laundry, but after she found a blanket that smelled like the water she said it would be better to do it after,” Caprice said. Melody’s heart nearly pounded out of her chest.

“What blanket?” 

“Uh… purple with a blue flower pattern-”

Melody ran from the house. She had to make sure Kyrie didn’t show up. By the time she made it to the sand, her mother was holding the blanket up at the corners. Just like Melody showed Kyrie. She nearly fell as she pulled it down from her mother’s hands.

“Melody, what are you doing?” Rhapsody asked.

“How many times did you shake this!?” Melody screamed. She couldn’t keep her fear or anger from her voice.

“I don’t know, three maybe. Why would it matter?”

“Why were you snooping in my closet?!”

“You know that you and Aria always have too many clothes. I thought I’d wash them, you try them on, and we could drop off what you don’t want on our way home.”

“Then let’s go inside and see what clothes you picked for that. This blanket is special.”

“What makes it so-”

One.

Kyrie’s shadow covered the beach.

Two .

Melody looked up, his eyes were closed. His teeth on full display in a wide grin that she’d usually find cute.

Three .

Her mother started to shake.

Four .

Shouts came from up the hill. She didn’t know the others followed her.

Five .

Kyrie reached forward and her mother screamed.

Five seconds. 

Melody always assumed her life would take longer than that to fall apart. Now they’d treat Kyrie like a monster. Tell her to leave him. Try to control her, hide her again. They’d push Caprice apart from her. Blame her for putting him in danger again.

One .

“Get away from them!” Dearan screamed. 

Two .

Kyrie’s eyes snapped open, he let out a sad chirp. She knew the moment he met her eyes. Realized what happened. That it wasn’t her, their signal wasn’t safe. He’d made a mistake and revealed himself to her parents. 

Three .

Her mother grabbed her arm. Tried to drag her away from claws Kyrie left close. Melody was frozen. She wanted to hold his finger, promise it was ok, that she wasn’t mad.

“Dad, calm down!” Caprice shouted. 

“That monster is gonna kill them!” Dearan.

“Melody we have to run!” Rhapsody.

Four

A sad whine mixed with a trill that echoed. Chirps farther out in the water, sounds she knew.

Five .

Melody dug in her heels.

Five seconds.

That’s what it took for Melody to realize she couldn’t let the merfolk in her life be hurt by her parents’ fear.

“Enough!” She screamed as loud as she could. Kyrie’s ear fins pressed back against his head. He lowered himself, even started to pull his fingers away. Melody reached out and grabbed one of his claws.

“We need to get away, it doesn’t know what we are yet!” Rhapsody said.

“Melody, listen to your mother and run!” Dearan said.

“I’m not running from him!”

Melody pulled her arm free and walked closer. She spun around, placed her hand on Kyrie’s skin, and faced her family. Caprice waltzed down the beach. He stopped next to her and gave a nod. They were on the same page.

“Melody, what the hell are you doing?!” Dearan said.

“You both kept asking when you’d meet, well,” she dug her nails into Kyrie’s skin, “this is Kyrie… I’m pretty sure by now he’d call us mates.”

Silence sat for a moment. She tilted her head back, Kyrie looked confused. It crossed her mind she’d made the wrong call, said something he’d hate. Then a purr burst out of him. Loud enough she stumbled in surprise. The bright smile that followed was adorable. 

Dearan started shouting again. Melody couldn’t make out the words over Kyrie’s purrs. As the shouting grew closer, Kyrie grew quieter. He was silent for a second before he started a soft growl. The shouts quieted in response. 

“Melody, get away before it decides to attack,” Rhapsody begged. 

Melody gestured to the people who raised her. “Kyrie… this is Rhapsody and Dearan… Mine and Caprice’s parents.”

“Nice to meet you,” Kyrie mumbled. Melody tried to squeeze the finger she held. A small sign of support. 

“Get away from it now, Melody. I’m not asking,” Dearan insisted. She merely shook her head. “Caprice, get her away from it.”

“ His name is Kyrie. He can understand you too,” Caprice said. He took a step back, a step closer to the water. “I told you it’s up to her who she’s with, besides he’ll keep her safe.”

“Both of you get away from it now!”

Melody stood firm. This was her life, her partner, and she wasn’t running. These people were the ones that put her in danger. Kept secrets to make themselves feel better. They were so desperate to live a normal life, they would rather hide her away. She wasn’t going to do that anymore. She was a siren… and her mate was right beside her.

Kyrie’s growl faded. Caprice put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. A small reassurance. It helped, a little. Dearan and Rhapsody didn’t do anything for a bit. It made her hope that this could be recovered. Her worlds could collide. That, maybe, even their relationship with their parents could improve after all of it. Then Dearan stepped forward.

“After all of this you’re doing it again?” he breathed. Melody stepped back, closer to the water. To Caprice. To Kyrie.

“Dearan don’t-” Rhapsody tried.

“Shut up Rhapsody!” Dearan took another step closer to Melody and Caprice. A step closer to Kyrie. “After all this time you’re bringing trouble to us again.”

“Dearan please!”

“I knew we should have stopped it when Aria paid for that manager. When you started taking singing lessons of all things. But no!” Dearan turned his glare on Rhapsody. “You said it would be fine. That the small signs we’d seen would fade! You said to ignore it.”

Caprice squeezed his hand on Melody’s shoulder. Nails started to dig into her skin. This wasn’t the fight they expected. Not about signs they knew about her voice. All this time they both thought it was a shock. That all the times things hinted at it were because of the audio mixing. Not just her voice .

“You never wanted to get involved. Always saying how it was just a phase!” Dearan continued. He started to pace. Kyrie backed up, the tips of his fingers stayed right next to her.

“Dearan, this is not the time to get into this!” Rhapsody shouted.

“Just like it wasn’t the time to talk about it when our daughter started dressing like a man!”

Caprice’s nails dug deeper into her skin. They knew Dearan had issues when Caprice started to transition. Called him Choir for months. They thought it was a struggle not… not complete ignorance. Melody put her hand on Caprice’s. This was the right move, these people weren’t parents.

“If you let me talk then we could have stopped her before she was too far gone!” Dearan finally turned his glare back on Melody. A finger aimed directly at her. “The only thing good came of the damn sports and then you had to go and ruin it.” 

“I told you before that night I wanted to quit,” Caprice growled. Melody squeezed his hand. She hadn’t known that. Dearan’s glare didn’t leave Melody.

“All because of her! If she had listened there wouldn’t have been so much time you spent working! You would have been dedicated to your sports.” Dearan stepped closer. Melody and Caprice took a step back. Kyrie shifted back along with them. More than them. “If you had only listened, but no. No matter how much we tried. Every. Single. Time. You’d start up again.”

“You never told us,” Melody whispered. “Never told me . Just said it was a foolish dream…”

Kyrie chirped softly. He pressed the tip of one finger against her. Dearan started shaking.

“Now you’re doing it all over again. Causing trouble for all of us! Get away from that monster now. We’re all leaving. Immediately.”

Caprice squeezed her shoulder. Melody squeezed his hand.

“No,” they said together.

“I said,” Dearan stormed forward. “We’re leav-”

A hand with dark green claws slammed down, palm towards Melody and Caprice. A deep growl she never expected to love quite so much sounded. Byssal was there, Byssal heard it all. Caprice pulled her back just a bit. A little closer to the water. A large hand grabbed her arm, she turned to see Pel. It was obvious how the mermaid avoided touching Caprice. Avoided getting him wet.

“Melody, make them go away,” Rhapsody begged. “We can talk after this. Once your father calms down. There’s more to talk about anyway. Things we came to discuss.”

“ Now you want to talk,” Melody said. Slowly her hands curled into fists. Melody would have stormed forward if she wasn’t held still. “Now, after all of this. After all he just said . You want to talk?”

“For once in your damned life listen. We know what’s best,” Dearan said.

“You know what’s best? You don’t know anything. Neither of you ever listened to what we had to say, to what we wanted to do!” Melody’s eyes burned. A sting of tears that wanted to fall. Ones of anger, an anger she thought she wouldn’t feel again. “You lied to us our whole lives, pretending we were normal. Never thought that sitting your kids down and offering an explanation would help!”

“We only hid the things you didn’t need to know. Caprice would never have been told if it wasn’t such a… public time you learned.”

“Byssal,” Caprice said. The eerie calm in his voice was a match to Melody’s burning tears. “Move your hand.”

A nearly deafening silence followed. The whole time Byss had been growling. So easy to ignore it now, to accept it as a part of life. The silence said more than was needed. The merfolk would do as Caprice and Melody wanted. Whatever that meant. Byssal’s hand moved. Caprice let her go and pulled his hand from Melody’s. He stepped close enough to the water that the waves could hit him any second.

“You would only tell us when it mattered? You only hid what was important?” Caprice asked as he picked a foot up. He hovered it dangerously close to the water. “Then why don’t you explain telling me I was ‘allergic’ to salt water. How did that protect us from a truth we didn’t need to know? What would happen if I touched it?”

“Caprice don’t, you… you might die, it's not safe!” Rhapsody yelled. The lie was obvious. She knew.

“You already know what will happen don’t you? You always knew. Do you wanna know what made me hate sports? The older I got, the tighter my skin felt. As if something was wrong with me, like my body was too small. So what would happen if I stepped into the water, Mother?”

“Damn it Caprice, listen already and get your sister away from those monsters! You said you wanted to help her so stop enabling her!” Dearan screeched. He knew; he wouldn’t fight so hard if he didn’t.

“I wonder if you think I don’t already know? That I’m just testing it. What do you think the real reason is I chose to come live out here with Melody? Quit my job out of nowhere. Just because that creep who kidnapped us when we learned the truth came back? That I was scared ?”

Caprice stomped down onto the damp sand. Rhapsody and Dearan called his name. Pelago’s hand on Melody’s arm tightened. Byssal and Kyrie whined. Melody… Melody wanted to sing. She could do more that way, tell her own story that way. Words couldn’t explain just what she felt or experienced after meeting Kyrie. After her own parents tried to lock her up, almost like a princess in a tower.

An eternity passed in seconds as Caprice was hit by the water. He arched his back, the pain easy to manage now. This time, he grew first. His hair got a little longer, body expanded, nails turned to claws. Just as his clothes tore, the scales grew in. Covered his legs as he fell to his knees. They fused to form his tail, just as his hands slammed down on either side of Melody.

“So you poisoned him too?” Dearan said. “Made him think these monsters are something he should want to be?!”

“You should realize they have their own thoughts,” Byssal’s growled words made Melody jump. Caprice was growing, he couldn’t speak.

“Stay out of this you-you thing! I’m talking to my children you haven’t done a damn thing to have the right to speak-”

“Byssal has more right to speak than you do” Melody screamed. “He’s done more for me than you ever have!”

“You have no idea what you’re talking about!”

“I know a lot more than you think I do.” 

Pelago’s hand on her arm tightened. Kyrie whined. Caprice’s now huge hand came close, circled around her. Byssal kept a low growl moving. Melody closed her eyes. This was solidly setting where her life would be. The humans or the merfolk. Caprice proved his decision. Now it was her turn.

“Did you know,” Melody started, “those songs I always used to hum were real? Part of being a siren… It’s thanks to Byssal I finally know I’m not crazy.”

“Melody now is not the time-” Rhapsody tried. Byssal growled loud enough to stop her.

“Pelago, she makes herself human to help me. Calm me down if something’s gone wrong. Listens to the nightmares I have. ”

“Oh guppy,” Pel mumbled. Melody pulled her arm out of the mermaid’s grip. Just enough to hold a finger or two in her hand.

“Both of them teach Caprice about himself now. About the part you were going to leave hidden forever. They respect him too. Don’t pressure him to find a partner. They don’t secretly think he’s not a man either.”

“Enough. Make Caprice human and come with us now!” Dearan growled.

“Kyrie did all he could just to meet me. Even once I could understand him when he spoke the merfolk language he kept learning English. He was desperate to let me keep the parts of my human life he had never been a part of!”

Kyrie’s finger pressed against her. She looked up at him. A bright smile on his face, her own smile at him just as bright. There was so much about him. So much in her own mind. Impossible to explain at this point. She could hear Dearan and Rhapsody talk, but staring into the massive blue eyes over her fixed the issues in her heart.

There was so much, but she knew the solution. Sirens could express so much more in song. It wasn’t just to help others. Melody would use that, use what the merfolk around her had given her, to explain things. She started to sing.

It started off slow. In her mind she pushed all the feelings she’d always hidden. Loneliness, anxiety, otherness. How her own parents left her to feel when her obsession with music was treated with so much hate.

A shift, almost too subtle. A screech of pain that ended in a whimper of apathy. An undertone of betrayal persisted. Isolated for years. Blamed for all the problems. Argument after argument about her own stubbornness being the reason why this happened. How if she listened her life would never have changed. She never would have met the only people who accepted her.

The song faded slowly. Entered into a small empty time. Darkness, nothingness. All she could do was exist. Then it stopped. The world itself waited for her to continue. Knowledge that her song was far from done.

Slowly, Melody hummed. It was filled with warmth and curiosity. An air of nerves anchored the harmony in reality. Her dark, isolated life changed. She met Kyrie, Pelago, and Byssal. Caprice turned into a merfolk. Finally there were people who understood. People who would hear that she was anxious to sing and respect that. Caprice looked happy again, the first time in years.

It carried on to hold bits of pain. Kyrie grew, the stones tried to control her. The way her own voice had been a weapon that nearly killed people she loved. At the same time she watched thousands upon thousands of sirens die. Souls bound to the stones that tortured her just as they had been. Then Caprice saved her. Destroyed the exact thing that would hold her in eternal pain. He set thousands upon thousands free. A revelry of relief. A symphony of thanks. Yet the panic and fear stayed, still coated in a warmth that only grew stronger. Undertones of reassurance, relief, and understanding.

Her song neared its end. The time they learned and grew. Days Kyrie made her smile just from understanding her. Peaceful days on the beach where Pelago would sit with her while Byssal and Kyrie helped Caprice adjust to his new size.

Melody turned to look at her parents as she ended her song. The feeling of warmth faded as she took them in. It was clear they didn’t like what she’d done. Caprice chirped as Kyrie’s fingers closed in around her. Melody placed her palms against his skin. A small tell to keep her on the ground.

“You’ve gone that far with all this?” Rhapsody’s voice was dark. “I hid so much to keep both of you safe and now you’re throwing it in my face? Fine I was a bad mother, but I’m not letting either of you sell yourselves to those soulless creatures! I was packing your things Melody. That’s why I found the blanket!”

“The house was sold. You have until the end of the month to move out. We were contacted last week about the lease ending,” Dearan said. Melody dug her nails into Kyrie’s skin. “The new owner wouldn’t discuss it with us. Now I’m glad he wouldn’t.”

Byssal and Kyrie whined. Pelago chirped. Melody and Caprice laughed. All of this for a secret they didn’t think would need to be shared. A private sale had gone through, thanks to Pelago’s collection. Thanks to her letting them take some of the statues. A reward had been offered for any information on the missing parts of the terracotta army. 

“ She’s right here. We made the sale private. Caprice and I aren’t going anywhere,” Melody said. She stood tall. Caprice let out a growl.

“I think it’s time you leave. Maybe once you’ve calmed down we can talk about it,” Caprice said. It was the same thing their parents always told them. Calm down then they’d talk, but the talk later never happened.

Melody tensed. Kyrie did too. She expected a fight. Instead both her parents actually turned and left. Caprice climbed out of the water once they were up the hill. Pelago climbed out a bit too. Her brother would need a towel once he turned back…

Byssal left, but she saw him appear just over the cliff. Watching. Helping them even now. Even when there was no reason to. Melody spun around in Kyrie’s hand. Waved her arms to bring his face closer. He let out a soft chirp as he did so. Eyes full of concern.

“Kyrie,” she whispered. “Can you kiss me?”

He looked worried for a moment. It didn’t stop him from nodding. He came close, took some of his fingers away. He was so massive, yet she trusted him. He wouldn’t hurt her. Couldn’t hurt her. Lips gently pressed her into the skin of his finger. A tired laugh left her just before he pulled away. This was one of the only places she felt at home, in fingers that were bigger than anyone she’d ever met.

“Are you two ok?” Pelago asked. Melody leaned into Kyrie’s fingers. Caprice made some chirp she hadn’t heard before.

“Probably,” Caprice mumbled. “Eventually.”

“We will be…” Melody smiled up at Kyrie once he pulled away from her. The sting on her hand was gone. “We’re with the family we chose.”

Byssal came back to the beach. A nod to tell them the two were gone. Rhapsody and Dearan had done their best. It was the claim Melody, Aria, and Caprice always shared. That didn’t make the past accepted. All three knew that too. Aria would call in a few days, complaints sent her way. Eventually their parents would reach out again. Angry, but not willing to completely lose their kids.

Either way, they had a family that bled warmth and care; that made it possible to accept who they truly are. That family was more than worth everything that just happened. A family that they would never hide again.