#mer!patton

When he first saw it, Thomas had thought it was a human diver who’d somehow swum into a net and gotten trapped, but when he brought he boat closer to help, he saw the fins on the elbows, the scales along his body, and most notably, the midnight blue tail in place of legs, that even from this distance Thomas can tell from the way it’s bent back at an unnatural angle isn’t one of those cosmetic diving suits. The creature isn’t moving and at first Thomas fears the worst, but there are two slits along his neck (gills, his brain supplies, they’re a pair of gills) that give the occasional weak flap, so at the very least, he’s still breathing. 

Thomas shakes himself slightly, and shoves his disbelief to the back of his mind for him to think about later. He squares his shoulders, letting his training and years of experience in marine rescue take over. It’s hard to tell from this distance, but it looks like the merman got stuck in a discarded piece of seine net, if the handful of buoys keeping it afloat are anything to go by. 

“We need to get that net off of him,” he says, slipping effortlessly into what Virgil refers to as his ‘teacher voice.’  “And we need to figure out if he has any injuries, and take him back to the lab if we need to.”

“How the hell are we going to do that?” Virgil asks, his eyes wide. “I mean, shit, Doc, that’s...this is a...are we really about to pull a merman onto our boat? What the fuck, this- this cannot be really happening-”

“Virgil, breathe,” Thomas instructs firmly. Virgil doesn’t look happy about it, but he obligingly takes a deep breath in when Thomas prompts him again. “I don’t understand it either, but we need to take this one step at a time. We’ll have time for a scientific crisis later. Right now, we have to help him.” 

“Okay,” Virgil nods, shaking his head. “Okay, okay. It’s just an actual, honest to god merman. Trapped in a fishing net. No big deal. How are we even going to do this?”

“The dinghy,” Thomas answers after a moment of thought. “One of us will go down and get a closer look, maybe see if we can get the net off from there. If he needs medical attention, then we can pull him into the dinghy with us and bring him back to the lab.” 

“It sounds so easy when you say it that way,” Virgil mutters, but then he squares his shoulders and nods. “Okay, let’s do this.” 

The two get to work on readying the dinghy, and Thomas elects not to comment on the slight tremor in Virgil’s hands as he attaches the cables to sides of the little boat. 

“Are we ready?” Thomas asks when the last cable is in place.

“All set here, Doc.” Virgil frowns then, looking apprehensively out across the water. “But I think that a storm might be blowing in. I don’t like the look of those clouds out there.” 

“Well, then we’d better hurry,” Thomas says. “Are you ready?” 

“Wait, I’m the one going down?” Virgil asks, panic creeping into his voice. “Wouldn’t it be better for you to check him out first?” 

“One of us needs to operate the boat up here, Virge.”

“Yeah, which I can do,” Virgil snaps back. “You’re the one with more marine rescue experience.”

“I’m also the one with a boating license,” Thomas insists. “And with that storm blowing in, I’d rather be the one at the controls.” 

“But I-” 

“Virgil, listen to me,” Thomas interrupts, his voice firm, but then he lets his eyes soften, meeting Virgil’s wide, frightened gaze. “You can do this, alright? I have total faith in you.” 

Virgil huffs out a breath, squeezing his eyes shut firmly before opening them and nodding. 

“Fine. But if I fall into the ocean or get eaten by a merman, then I’m coming back to haunt you.” 

“I’d be disappointed otherwise,” Thomas says with a smirk, and Virgil gives him a small smile back before taking a deep breath and climbing into the dinghy. 

Slowly, Thomas lowers the dinghy and it hits the waves with a splash. Virgil visibly takes another deep breath, and Thomas’s heart swells with pride for his student as Virgil reaches out to touch the strange creature gently on the arm. 

Then the merman’s eyes fly open and everything goes to hell. 

— — —

Virgil was having what was unquestionably the weirdest day of his life. One minute he was out with the Doc collecting more of those godforsaken water samples, the next they were face to face with something right out of a fairytale. 

How many legends were born because someone caught a glimpse of an animal they didn't understand? a voice whispers in the back of his mind. Who's to say that the stories about mermaids didn't begin in the same way?

Virgil likes stories about cryptids as much as the next gay millenial, but the scientist in him can’t help but remind him that they’re just that- stories. 

Well, apparently not all of them, he thinks as he reaches out, wrapping his fingers gently around the merman's arm. 

The moment Virgil touches him, his eyes snap open, and for a moment the two are frozen, staring at each other in mutual shock. 

Then the merman opens his mouth and screams. 

Virgil flinches back from the grating sound, his hands flying to cover his ears, and the moment he stops touching the merman the creature begins to thrash in the water, clearly trying to get as far away from the dinghy as possible. It's impossible for him to get far though, the way his tail is pinned against the rest of his body, and he lets out a wounded cry when the nylon digs deeper into his skin. His face contorts in pain, and he looks so human that Virgil is speaking before he has time to think about how crazy it is. 

"Hey, hey, easy!" he cries, holding his hands out towards the merman in what he hopes is a placating gesture. "It’s gonna be okay, but you need to stay still, if you keep thrashing like that you're gonna hurt yourself!"

The merman lets out another cry, and this time there's another layer beneath the humanesque voice. It's beautiful, almost musical in nature, but there's a harsh undertone to it that makes Virgil wince again. 

“C’mon, just stay still for me” he murmurs, reaching out to the merman again. He manages to grab the net this time, tugging on it so the creature floats closer to the boat. The merman snarls and bares his teeth at him, and yikes, those are fangs, steer clear of those! Virgil leans away, sucking a breath in through his teeth, but keeps his grip on the net steady. 

The merman opens his mouth again and Virgil grimaces, ready for another heart-wrenching wail, but instead- 

“Let. Me. Go!” 

Virgil rears back, startled enough that he actually does what the merman says and releases his grip on the net, and not a moment too soon. There’s a sharp, almost metallic taste in the air and the hair on Virgil’s arm stands on end, then with a cry, the merman lets loose a burst of electricity. Virgil yelps in surprise (which he’d find embarrassing, if his brain wasn’t so busy trying to not die) and throws an arm across his eyes against the flash of light. 

“Virgil!” Thomas shouts, and Virgil opens his eyes in time to see the last remaining sparks skittering across the surface of the water.

“I’m good!” he calls up, and Thomas lets out an audible sigh of relief. Despite the chill of the sea air, Virgil’s cheeks warm slightly under the doc’s concern; over five years since he started working as his research assistant, and he still wasn’t quite used to the way Thomas treated him, caring for him like he was family. 

There was a hissing, spitting growl, and Virgil is yanked back into the moment. 

Right. Angry merman trapped in a net; angry merman who can apparently speak English, and is electric to boot. How is this his life? 

"Listen man, please," Virgil says, holding his hands out again. "I don't wanna hurt you. My friend up there and I, we're marine biologists...that means we study the ocean and the animals that live there. 

"So you set this trap for me," the merman spits out, glaring. "To catch me and study me?" 

"No!" Virgil shakes his head. "No, I promise. Our job is to help ocean creatures, not hurt them. We find ones that are sick or injured and we help them get better." 

The merman's expression is still wary, but the heat of his glare isn't so intense now, and Virgil sees a familiar flash of panic behind the bravado. 

"We didn't set the net," Virgil promises. "From what I can tell right now, it looks like fishing waste of some kind. And it's hurting you." 

The merman doesn't answer, but Virgil knows he's right. He can see the nylon strands actually cutting into flesh in some places, and the merman's breathing is steadily becoming more erratic as he struggles weakly in the water. 

"We just want to help," Virgil pleads, and the merman looks up at him, his wide eyes a deeper blue than Virgil thinks he's ever seen. For an instant, the merman looks less like a vicious sea creature and more like a terrified young man, then his face twists into another snarl. 

"I can't trust a human," he spits out, and Virgil resists the urge to grind his teeth in frustration. 

"If you don't want to come back with us, that's fine," he finds himself saying. "We could help you more at our lab, but if you really don't want to go with us, I understand. But at least let me get that net off of you."

"I do not need your help!" the merman snaps, and Virgil snaps right back,

"Well, it certainly doesn't look like you can get out on your own! I don't want you to die out here man, at least let me get the net off!" 

The merman's eyes widen again, and Virgil wants to kick himself for letting his own panic get the better of him. That's not what either of them need right now, and it's not what Thomas would do if he were the one down here with the merman. 

"I'm sorry," Virgil says more softly. "I know this has to be pretty scary for you. I'm scared too, if I'm honest. But I really do want to help you, please let me try?" 

There's a long pause, then finally the merman nods slowly, wincing as the movement causes the netting to dig deeper into his skin. Virgil lets out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, and nods back. 

"Great. I'm gonna reach for the net, okay? Cool it with the sparks; I can't help you if I get electrocuted and pass out."

The merman nods, and for the third time, Virgil reaches out and grabs ahold of the net wrapped around his body. He pulls him closer to the boat, and for the first time, Virgil gets a closer look at the merman. 

He looks remarkably human from the waist up, despite the fins on his elbows and the gills still flapping weakly on his neck, and Virgil’s disaster gay brain takes a moment to note that the bare chest and torso are pretty nice looking, actually, or at least they would be without the fishing net pinning the merman’s arms down and cutting into his tail. 

“Virgil!” Thomas calls down to him, and Virgil glances up. “That storm is blowing closer, we don’t have a lot of time left!” 

“Got it!” Virgil calls back before pulling a pair of wire cutters from the pocket of his windbreaker. “Okay, I’m gonna try cutting this off you, alright?” he says to the merman. “Try and stay still for me.” 

It's slow, delicate work, but bit by bit, Virgil manages to cut sections of the net away, starting with the strands wrapped around the merman's neck and shoulders. When the first bit of netting falls away, the merman suddenly gasps, letting out a shuddering breath, and Virgil realizes with horror that the netting was pinning down the gills on one side of his neck. 

Thank god there were buoys keeping him at the surface, Virgil thinks. Who knows what would have happened if he hadn’t been able to come up to breathe. 

The relief on his neck and shoulders seems to calm the merman somewhat, and Virgil is able to detangle the mess of netting around his arms and chest more quickly, despite the sliver of gay panic in the back of his mind. 

"Okay, now for your tail and fins..." Virgil mutters. "I'd be able to get those off easier if you were in the boat with me, is that alright?"

The merman instantly looks wary, and Virgil gestures at the pile of netting in the boat beside him. 

"I've gotten all this off of you already, and if I really did want to hurt you, it'd have been much easier when your arms were pinned," he points out. 

"...I suppose that is logical," the merman agrees eventually, and with a slightly pained expression, he reaches up and grips the side of the dinghy, pulling his torso out of the water. 

"Virgil, watch out!" Thomas suddenly shouts, and Virgil looks up just in time to see a large swell in the water rolling towards them. 

 "Shit!" Virgil reaches out and grabs hold of the merman's arms to try and pull him up just as the swell reaches the dinghy, sending it tilting back. 

The momentum sends the merman careening forward, and Virgil grunts as the creature lands against his chest. The sea around them is growing choppier, and wind whips through Virgil's hair as he struggles to regain his footing in the dinghy. 

The storm has reached them. 

"Virgil, you've got to get back up here!" Thomas shouts over the roar of the wind, but Virgil shakes his head. 

"His tail is still trapped! He won't be able to swim with it like this, I can't just leave him!" 

"You may take me up," the merman gasps, and Virgil whips his head around, locking eyes with him. 

"What?"

"You may take me up with you!" the merman repeats. "You cannot stay here when the water is like this, I will go with you." 

"Okay," Virgil says quietly, before shouting back up to Thomas. "Okay! Pull the boat up, we're both coming back aboard!"

Rain begins to fall as Thomas rushes to the winch controls; it’s light at first, but by the time the dinghy begins to climb back up towards the deck of the larger boat, it is well and truly pouring. So much so, that Virgil doesn't see the wave that crashes into the side of the boat until it's too late. 

Water washes over the dinghy, and Virgil hears Thomas cry out before he and the merman are both swept overboard into the ocean. 

Virgil’s head is submerged for a moment, but he’s wearing his life vest and he pops back up above the surface like a cork floating in a bathtub. He tries to gasp for air, but another wave crashes into him and his mouth fills with water. He coughs, and tries to think past the panic that’s clawing its way into his chest. 

He turns his head, trying to catch a glimpse of the boat, but all he sees is water: waves crashing around him and rain pouring down into his eyes.

Oh my god, I’m gonna drown. I’m gonna die in the ocean and they might never find my body and I didn’t even get to say goodbye to Thomas- 

Virgil’s panicked thoughts are cut off by a sudden, loud wail, and with a start he realizes it’s the merman, who’s still holding onto Virgil’s arms. He lets out the cry again, and Virgil realizes it’s the same harsh, musical call that he’d made earlier when he first woke up.

Virgil opens his mouth to ask him what he’s doing, but another wave rolls into them and his mouth once again fills with water. 

I have to find the boat, or we’re both dead. 

He tries to look around again, but with the merman clutching his arms he can’t maneuver well enough to get his bearings. 

But if I let go, he won’t be able to swim through the storm. Why on earth didn’t I free his tail first? 

The merman suddenly lets out another cry, but this time it’s different. The pitch is higher, and it’s layered with some sort of clicking that reminds Virgil of a dolphin. He squints through the rain, and sees that for the first time, the merman doesn’t look afraid. His brow is furrowed in concentration, and he lets out another stream of clicks and cries that almost sound…is that a language?

Before Virgil can ask what he’s doing, a figure suddenly bursts up from the water beside them, and Virgil can’t contain the shriek of surprise, because that’s another merman. 

The two mermen click and chatter at each other for a moment, then both turn and look at him, and Virgil swallows. The second merman looks furious, and Virgil’s not interested in becoming fish food, but at the same time…

“Can you help him?” Virgil manages to choke out before another wave cuts him off, and the new merman’s eyes widen. “His-his tail,” Virgil splutters. “Can you help him?” 

Before either of the mermen answer (does the second even speak English?), the water around them rises up, and Virgil is staring at the largest thing he’s ever seen in his life. It’s another merman, it has to be, but even with just its head poking above the water, it’s bigger than the boat, its glowing blue eyes boring down right into Virgil’s soul.

I’m dying, Virgil thinks to himself. I fell overboard and now I’m drowning and I’m hallucinating an ocean god and I’m definitely going to die. 

The creature reaches an impossibly large hand towards him and everything goes black. 

— — — 

Logan’s memories of how he got here are vague and fuzzy at best. He remembers thrashing in the water, something thin and tight wrapping around him, constricting his arms, making it hard to move, hard to breathe, he remembers being pulled towards the surface, breaking above the waves and gasping for air with his lungs, and after that…he’s not sure. All he knows now is that he was completely at the mercy of this strange, purple human, and that the human didn’t hurt him. He’d done the opposite, he’d helped him, freed his gills and his arms and made sure that he was comfortable the whole time. 

When the waves come and knock them both into the water, Logan knows he can get away if he tries. His tail is still pinned, but with his arms free he’ll be able to swim deep enough that the human can’t follow. But if he leaves the human alone in the sea, he might not survive. Logan refuses to let someone who saved him just die, even if that someone is a human. 

The waves pull the human’s head underwater, and Logan knows he has to do something, and fast. Opening his mouth, he lets out his pod call, praying to the Seven Goddesses that his family is out there somewhere looking for him. He cries out again, sending the distress call in every direction as another wave rolls into them. The human is struggling to breathe now, and Logan knows that he will drown soon if he is not able to keep his head above water. 

A familiar call suddenly sounds through the water, and Logan’s heart leaps. He calls back, and relief floods through him when he hears a response from close by. 

“Roman! Roman, is that you?” he calls. “I am here! This way!” 

“Sharkbait!” 

Roman bursts up out of the water beside them, and Logan feels tears prick at the back of his eyes.

“Roman!” he cries, reaching for his brother with one hand. 

“Logan, thank the Seven Goddesses we found you! Are you alright? What happened?” 

“I was caught in a net and swept away,” Logan explains. “But then these humans found me and-” 

“What did they do to you?” Roman snarls, whirling to face the human. Logan opens his mouth to explain, but before he can, the human speaks. 

“Can you help him?” Another wave crashes over them and the human coughs, but he speaks again anyway. “His-his tail, can you help him?” 

“What’s wrong with your tail?” Roman asks, and Logan twists in the water so Roman can see. 

“The net, it is still wrapped around me. I-I am having trouble swimming still, but the human has helped to at least free my arms and gills.” 

“The human?” Roman repeats, and Logan nods.

The water around them suddenly stirs, and Logan gasps.

“Dad!” 

“LOGAN!” 

Patton’s head rises above the water, and tears spill over Logan’s eyelids as he reaches for his father. Patton reaches back, and draws Logan close to his chest. 

“Dad, I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have run off, I didn’t know I’d get caught, I’m so sorry…”

“Shhhhh, it’s alright, guppy,” Patton soothes. “I am not angry with you. I’m so glad you’re safe! Your brother and I have been looking everywhere for you, and by the grace of the Seven Goddesses, we found you! We can all go home together.” 

“Wait,” Logan says, turning, and he gasps when he sees that the human has fallen unconscious in the water. Somehow the orange thing around his neck and shoulders is keeping him afloat, but Logan doesn’t know how long it will last. 

“What is it, Sharkbait?” Roman asks, and Logan gestures to the human. 

“This human, he saved me-” 

“SAVED you?” Roman snarls. “Humans are the ones to blame for you getting hurt!” 

“But not this human!” Logan insists. “He found me in the net and helped to cut me free; he was trying to free my tail when we both were swept into the ocean. I cannot just let him drown after he saved me!” 

“What are we supposed to do, take him to his ship? To shore? And let humans capture all three of us? I think not!” Roman growls, and Logan looks up at his father. 

“Dad, please, I- we can’t just leave him!” 

“I must admit, I share your brother’s concerns about the risk of venturing nearer to humans,” says Patton. 

“But Dad-” 

“I have not finished,” Patton interrupts gently. “It is not safe to bring him back to his kind, but there is another way.” 

Patton reaches one giant hand out to the unconscious human, touching his thumb to the human’s forehead. There’s a flash of light, and when it fades, there are bright blue lines along the human’s neck that resemble Logan and Roman’s gills. 

“The water will not harm him now,” Patton promises. “He will breathe it as we do, he will not drown. Now come, my guppies, it is not safe to remain here.” 

“Will he…can we bring him with us?” Logan asks. 

Roman makes a sound of protest, but Patton nods. 

“That would be best, I think.” He reaches out and draws the human and Logan both close to his chest before sinking back beneath the waves. 

“Wait!” Logan says suddenly. “This…this squishy orange thing, it is keeping the human from sinking. We should remove it before we dive.”

“Roman?” Patton prompts, and Roman doesn’t look happy about it, but he reaches forward, and after a few tears at the straps holding the device to the human’s chest it slips free, floating up to the surface. 

“Now, guppies,” Patton says soothingly. “We must make for home.”

Logan relaxes into his father’s embrace, and lets himself be carried deeper into the ocean. He yawns, and Patton pulls him closer.

“It’s alright if you need to rest, Logan,” his father murmurs to him. “You have had a very trying day.” 

“Roman?” Logan calls, and without another word Roman swims up behind him, curling around him and holding him close.

“That’s it, my guppies. Sleep now, I will wake you when we reach home.” 

Logan glances at the unconscious human. He is not sure what to expect when the human wakes, or if bringing him beneath the waves was even the right choice, but there is no time to worry about that now. For now, he is safe in his father’s arms, with his brother’s tail wrapped around his back. His pod is back together, and nothing else matters. 

Slowly, Logan’s eyes drift closed and he follows the human into sleep.

— — —

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