Chapter Text
Geoff loved the water, especially the ocean; his mom used to say that he must have been a fish in a past life, just like his dad. His parents were soulmates who had met when his mother first moved from England to Australia to reconnect with her roots. Geoff used to beg every night to hear their first meeting: To hear about how his mom had hired his dad to be her tour guide, about the anticipation his mom had when she noticed her soulmate timer going down, about how his dad was in a rush from sleeping through his alarms and was too panicked to see the timer on his arm going down, hearing about how his dad had tripped and fallen for his mom, literally.
His Dad had passed when Geoff was 6, and his mom was still pregnant with his brother. His Uncle Bill moved in with them not long after. Uncle Bill would take him and his brother out on a boat a lot. Sometimes their mom would join them, sometimes she and his brother would stay on shore, it didn’t matter to Geoff, he loved being out on the water. Maybe that’s why, after his mom’s accident that forced her into retirement from the Coast Guard, he found a job as a sailor on a cruise ship. It paid well, had long stretches of being out on the sea, and he got to travel. It had been perfect, but then, while away on a two-year voyage, his mother died, and no one had told him. The two brothers went without speaking for a while, but then Geoff extended an offer to go fishing.
He had hope that this was the way to bond with his brother again after years of tension. As Geoff got ready that morning, he noticed something weird: his soulmate timer was yellow, and there were three hours and thirteen minutes left on it. Doing the math, Geoff realized that he would be in the middle of the ocean when it went off. Which made no sense to him, but he didn’t linger on it. He had bigger priorities, like picking up his brother, getting out on the water, and mending their relationship through fishing.
The tension was still there, though. It all came to light after his brother told him to shut up while out on the water. This caused the brothers to end up fighting, and then Geoff harpooned his leg. In the midst of all the panic, Geoff hadn’t noticed his timer was now in the red and was slowly getting closer to zero.
~~~~~~~
Persephone had heard of soulmates; she had seen the numbers nicking down on the arms of the sailors she revived, heard the sailors speaking of them from passing ships. The soulmate timers were a gift from the universe to humans many years before Persephone was born. That gift hadn’t been bestowed upon the other creatures of the world, and she had accepted that. It didn’t stop the envy that came every time she saved a sailor and could see the timers on their arms. She never brought this up to her sisters, not wanting to cause worry or worse, the looks of pity and sadness. It wasn’t a possibility for her, and she had accepted that.
You can imagine the joy and terror that consumed Persephone when a timer of her own suddenly appeared on her arm. The numbers stood out against the green of her skin, and she stared at them for a while. Watching as they ticked down, thirty-two years, ninety-one days, five hours, twenty-seven minutes, and fifty seconds, forty-nine seconds, forty-eight, forty-seven, forty-six. Persephone watched the numbers till she heard Clover yell.
“Persephone, what is on your arm?!” Her friend stared at her arm in confusion and fear.
“A soulmate timer... like humans have,” Persephone explained, bracing for her friend’s reaction.
“Why do you have one?!” Clover interrogated, grabbing her friend by the shoulders.
Persephone attempted to reply, but all she could manage were confused noises.
“We’re going to see Posideon and sort this out!” Clover decided, dragging Persephone by her wrist.
The Greek sea god wasn’t particularly helpful, instead sending them to talk to Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty. Her response? It was simply something that just happened.
“For whatever reason, the universe decided you were the best suited for a particular human. You’re not the first to be chosen, and I highly doubt the last.” The goddess explained.
“What should I do?” Persephone asked. Aphrodite shrugged.
“That is completely up to you. Your fate is in your hands.” She answered before disappearing in a cloud of doves.
Clover huffed in annoyance. “Wonderful, now you’re tied to some random human, just wonderful.” She scoffed, voice dripping with sarcasm. “Let’s go home.” Clover sighed, offering a hand to Persephone.
“I– I actually was gonna stay here for a bit… To think… You know?” She chirped, looking down at her fidgeting hands. She could feel Clover staring at her.
Clover sighed. “Alright, I’ll see you tomorrow.” She waved as she dove into the water.
Persephone looked back at her arm, watching the numbers slowly count. She sighed, looking up at the sky. It was dark now, so she could see the stars, and a small smile grew on her face.
“I can’t wait to meet you, soulmate.”
~~~~~~~
“I CAN OFFER MEDICAL ASSISTANCE TO ANYONE IN NEED!” A voice screamed.
The brothers look at each other and then begin to row until they see a woman on the rocks come into view. Letting the boat float over to the rocks, the brothers looked at each other.
“Maybe she’s a doctor?” The younger Jeff wondered.
“Well, she said she could offer medical assistance to anyone in need.” The older Geoff replied. Jeff shrugged. “Hey!” Geoff screamed
His brother followed suit, “Hey!”
“Hey!” The woman yelled back. The brothers gasped in surprise.
“Hey!” Jeff screamed again.
“Hey!” The woman echoed.
“Hey! Can you offer medical assistance to anyone in need?” Geoff asked.
“I can offer medical assistance to anyone in need!” The woman informed.
My–myy brother, he’s been hit with his own harpoon gu–” Jeff was cut off by his older brother tugging his arm.
“Don’t tell her that!” Geoff protested. Earning a confused look from his younger brother.
“Why not?” He asked, clearly confused.
“Well, cause it makes me sound like a fucking idiot!” Geoff explained like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Jeff threw his hands up in confusion, giving his brother a look of “That’s your priority? You are a fucking idiot!”
“Just say it was a harpoon accident! She’s fit!” Geoff directed.
Jeff rolled his eyes. “Okay?” He muttered, now just mildly annoyed and amused. “There’s been a har– been a har– there’s been a horrible harpoon accident!” Jeff yelled, clearing a bit of space. “Do you wanna come aboard?”
“Why don’t you come to me?” The woman countered. “It’s kinda my whole uh medical field.” The brothers looked at each other, confused, then Geoff shrugged.
“I would love to, but I got a harpoon in my leg! Do I take it out or do I leave it in?” Geoff inquired as his little brother looked between the woman and Geoff. The woman didn’t respond for a moment.
“Currently, leave it in!” The woman advised. “And we’ll see how we go!” Both men nodded in agreement.
“Alright, let’s go,” Jeff said, moving to get behind his brother.
“Yeah, you’re gonna have to carry me.” Geoff pointed out. Jeff rolled his eyes again.
“I’m going to.” He muttered, picking his brother up. Geoff grunted in pain.
“This really hurts!” Geoff groaned, his little brother grunting as he worked to bring Geoff off the boat. “I feel like we’re bonding as brothers, though.” Geoff chuckled.
Jeff gave a small laugh as he dragged his older brother onto the rocks. Neither of the men was paying attention to Geoff’s timer blinking rapidly as the minutes quickly changed to seconds.
“Excuse me, ma’am!” Jeff called to get the woman’s attention.
Now, as the woman came fully into view, Geoff looked at his brother. “Man, she is fit!” If Geoff had looked down at his arm, he would have noticed that his timer was now at zero, but he had different priorities (and they weren’t about the harpoon in his leg). Luckily for him, the woman noticed.
“Can you help my brother, please?” Jeff begged. This reminded Geoff that he had a harpoon in his leg.
“I need medical assistance.” Geoff pointed out.
“Lie him down on this clump of hill– rock.” The woman corrected herself. Jeff did as she instructed.
“So, have you got like, training? Where did you train? In Queensland?” Jeff questioned, finally realizing that maybe someone just yelling about how they could provide medical assistance to those in need might not have the qualifications to actually help. The woman turned away from them.
“I have many years of experience.” The woman stated, walking away a bit to get supplies.
Jeff leaned down to Geoff. “You’re gonna be okay, buddy. I got a good feeling about her!” Jeff reassured, because neither of these men has any actual self-preservation skills, apparently.
The woman reappeared. “I have some ancient herbs that I have spat in.” She explained, as she rubbed her hands together and sang.
Jeff made a noise of confusion, and Geoff patted his arm. “Some of that new age stuff.” Geoff reasoned that’s when Jeff noticed Geoff’s timer. “Geoff! Your–” He yelled.
In a moment of panic, the woman tapped Jeff’s head. “Sleep.” She commanded, and he did. Geoff caught him and laid him down gently, and he turned back to the woman. “I will now heal you with ancient herbs.” She continued like she didn’t just make a man pass out.
“What was that?!” Geoff exclaimed, gesturing to his now sleeping brother. (Still not noticing his timer.)
The woman tilted her head slightly in confusion. “Can you not do that?” She asked.
Geoff stared up at her and shook his head slightly. “No.” He stated.
The woman seemed surprised. “Oh, I’ve given the game away.” She muttered. Geoff started to ask questions, but the woman ignored him. “Which leg is it?” She asked, looking back and forth between his legs.
“The one with the harpoon in it.” Geoff pointed out.
The woman nodded. “Sorry, not used to human legs.” She admitted.
Geoff’s eyes widened in terror. “What?!” He choked.
“Legs!” She corrected. “Close one there.” She whispered to herself. The woman let out a loud caw as a pair of large green wings popped up behind her.
“Were those wings?!” Geoff shrieked.
The woman hesitated. “No? Those were teeth?”
Geoff, clearly hallucinating from blood-lost accepted this as an answer. Not questioning anything else as he counted down to lift the harpoon out of his leg, he passed out.
~~~~~~~
Persephone watched the human as he slept. When the two had touched, the timers on both their arms shone a bright gold and disappeared. This was her soulmate, and she saved him. He looked peaceful, lying against the rocks, asleep. Brushing the hair that had fallen near his eyes, Persephone wondered how this would work, a human and a siren. Would she leave her sisters? Would he even want her? A million questions raced through her head, questions that had been racing through her head since she got the timer.
She sighed. She knew in time all the questions would be answered, but right now, her soulmate needed sleep. Persephone smiled, for now she was happy just watching him sleep, as she daydreamed.