The four of them stayed out on the beach all day, playing in the water and relaxing in the sand, getting to know each other. So far, they'd discovered that the four of them had a pretty great dynamic. Patton was great at making everyone laugh. Logan was incredibly smart and a great person to ask for help on almost any subject. Roman was creative and a little arrogant, but his boisterous nature made the others laugh. Virgil was quiet but when he contributed to the conversation it was always something valuable. 

They were all able to talk for hours. Eventually, the sun began to sink lower and lower in the sky, but the group wasn't planning on leaving just because it was getting late.

Patton let out a happy giggle as he fell down and rolled across the sand. Roman and Virgil were laying together not too far away and Logan was sitting by the fire they had built as it had begun to get darker. He focused his gaze on the sky. 

The night sky above him twinkled with stars he only got to see clearly for the first time in the last day or two. He grinned up at them. He enjoyed being on land, having legs. He felt freer somehow now that the other half of the planet was available for him to explore. Well... he wasn't quite sure if that was correct or not.

He stopped laughing, his smile dropping from his face. His joy started to fade as troubling thoughts began to fill his head. Wouldn't he and Virgil have to eventually return to the kingdom?

Patton looked toward his soulmate, feeling his heart already aching in his chest at the thought of saying goodbye to him. He couldn't leave Logan. He just couldn't do it. He felt as thought he'd die of heartbreak if he had to spend even another day without him. If he returned to the kingdom, who knew when the next time he'd be able to visit his soulmate would be?

"Patton, are you alright?" Logan asked softly from beside him. 

The merman jumped, having not heard him approach. He was so deep in thought that even his heightened senses hadn't been able to detect his movement. "Oh, yes, of course," he said, forcing a smile. 

"I know that tone," Virgil said. He sat up from where he was laying on his soulmate's chest. "What's wrong? You're repressing something, I can tell."

Patton looked at his friend with round, sad eyes. "What are we going to do, Virgil?" he asked softly, not looking at either of the humans. "What's going to happen if we go back? What's going to happen if we don't? You don't think they'll... come after us?"

"Wait, what are you talking about?" the bartender asked, sitting up with alarm in his tone. He took his soulmate's hand. "Are you in trouble or something?"

The merman shook his head as he squeezed Roman's hand back. "We're... we're not in big trouble, no, but we're not supposed to be here," he answered truthfully. "We're breaking several laws by just talking to you guys. Patton... I don't know how to tell you this, but they weren't looking for you after you'd left. I don't think they want you to come back, and probably feel the same about me now too..."

"You mean we're exiled..." he breathed, looking down at the sand. "They don't want us to come back."

Silence fell over them, tense and thick enough to make swallowing difficult for all four of them. Logan took one look at the dejected looked on the merman's face and furrowed his brows. He grabbed his hand. "Fuck them if they don't want incredible mermen like you in their kingdom," he said firmly. "You saved my life. I'd let you stay with me even if we weren't soulmates."

"You too, Virgil," Roman said, hugging his soulmate. "You can stay with me. Fuck those elitist-sounding bastards if they don't want you."

Patton smiled a little feeling the tension in his chest ease up as he leaned into Logan. This was going to take time to figure out, but he was glad he'd be doing it with his soulmate, his best friend, and his newest friend rather than the heartless merfolk he'd been living with all his life. The future looked blurry, but it was certainly bright as well. 

The End.