last part of the series. thank you all for reading <3

/ / /

Barley waited around for you for a couple of hours, but you didn't come back. He drove back home slowly. Maybe you had decided to walk?

When he got home, he moved slowly, as if he was waist-deep in the ocean. There was a new weight on his shoulders, dragging him down as he trudged up the sidewalk and unlocked the door.

"Hey, Barley and ___, Mom made cookies and I---" Ian stopped when he saw his brother slam the door, his head down, his face sad. "Where's ___?"

Barley looked at him. "She's not here, huh?"

Ian shook his head.

"Guess she went home early then."

"She... she wouldn't do that."

He looked at his little brother. "She would."

Laurel hurried into the living room. "Sweetie, what happened?"

"We had a fight, Mom," he explained tiredly, "and I... I told her..." Guilt filled him. He clenched his fists. "It doesn't matter what I told her. It's all over now."

"Oh, honey, and she's just out there?" Laurel asked. "You have to go out and find her!"

"I can't just go hunt her down! She doesn't want me around right now."

Ian glanced behind his brother and out the window. His heart sank as he saw rain droplets splatter onto the glass pane. "Oh, no..."

"What?" Barley turned and looked. Lightning flashed, and thunder sounded. "Oh, no, no, no!"

"Go find her," Laurel was shouting. "I'll call Manticore and your stepfather. We'll all go out and look for her! Go, go, go!"

Barley started for the door, flinging it open and running to Guinevere II. Ian scrambled into the passenger seat and before his door was even shut, Barley was turning out of the driveway and back towards where you had been walking together.

The car ride was quiet. The only sounds were the rain beating against the top of the van and the windshield wipers raking the water off of the windshield. Ian kept his eye out his window, eyes scanning for you.

"What happened, Barley?" he asked softly.

Barley didn't answer. His face was stiff; his hands gripped the steering wheel tightly.

Ian tried again. "Barley---"

"She said she was just going to leave," he said. "That she was just... just going to go back home. Just like that."

Ian nodded slowly.

"You can tell me that I'm a huge, fat jerk," he said.

"I don't think you are. I think you just... really like her and you don't want her to leave." He looked at his older brother. "But she has a family, Barley. She has people that she loves there, too."

"I know," he said. "I just want things to be easier."

"Yeah," he agreed. "But, you know, I really think that it makes your relationship special, how you got to know her even though she lived underwater. And now she gets to visit with us, and you get to know what it's like to have her here. And maybe you can visit her family sometimes, and then if it all works out, you'll know if it's real."

"Thanks, man. Really. But I... I told her she shouldn't come at all." He blinked quickly, the tears threatened to spill over. He shook his head in disbelief and covered his mouth, fingers rubbing the scruff of his beard. "I can't believe I said that to her."

Ian, gazing sympathetically, looked back out the window. As Barley pulled onto the highway and sped up, he saw a flicker of a streetlight over the next exit ramp. He leaned close to the window as he saw, while the light flashed, someone huddled up on the ground.

"Wait, Barley, I see her!" Ian said, smacking's his brother's arm. "Exit here, exit here!"

Barley swerved into the right lane quickly. He took the ramp down and turned to the right. He pulled over and he and Ian scrambled out of the van and ran around in a circle, going over the grass, until they got to directly underneath the cover.

The streetlight flickered and Barley saw you on the ground, your arms holding your knees to your chest. You lifted your head, your damp hair falling around your face.

Barley stopped when he saw you. He felt so guilty.

Ian went to your side, putting his hand on your arms. "Hey, you okay?"

You nodded and looked at Barley. "I'm sorry, I walked too far and I-I didn't know where I was anymore. And then it started to rain and so I found this. I thought you guys wouldn't be able to find me. I'm sorry, Barley."

"No," he said, sinking down to the ground. He moved close to her, out of the rain, and wiped it from his face. "You don't need to be sorry. I need to be sorry. I am sorry. I... I can't believe I said those things. I-I spoke without thinking, like I always do, and I was selfish. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," you whispered. You smiled and shrugged. "It's just a first fight."

"I don't like fighting with you."

The thunder clashed again. You jumped slightly.

"We should get home," Ian said. "Mom will be freaked out if we're gone too long."

Barley nodded in agreement. You wrapped your arms around him and he scooped you up. As he carried you to the van, you looked up at the sky.

/ /

"You know, you were right. I don't have to go back. I am an adult." You swallowed hard. It was the next evening, and the sun was close to setting. Barley was driving you back to the beach. "But I want to go back, just for a while. And then... and then we can decide what to do after that."

Barley reached over and took your hand. "If that's what you really want to do. I don't want you to feel like you have to pick me over anyone. I never want that."

You looked at him. "I love you."

He turned onto the declining slope of sand that would bring you to the water. "I love you, too."

He parked on the beach and you sat in the van for a long, silent minute. Then you said:

"I want to go on a walk one last time. Do you want to walk with me?"

He nodded and got out of the van. He walked around and opened the door for you, and you laced your fingers with his. You both started towards the water, walking as slow as you could manage.

"You should teach me how to dance," you said.

"Huh?"

"Dancing," you said, looking straight ahead at the streaks of orange against the pink sky. "I've never done it."

You had about fifteen minutes left of being human.

Barley left the van running and played music from the radio. He taught you how to dance, even though he wasn't exactly good at it. You didn't know that he wasn't, all you knew was that you were having fun. For the first time, you and Barley were grinning and laughing without the anxiety of losing one another again.

He took your hands in his and you realized why. The sky was purple except for a streak of orange across the line of the sea.

You stepped close to him and wrapped your arms around his neck. You shut your eyes tight and held on.

You felt your fin come back, and Barley bent down to pick you up. You leaned against his shoulder as he placed you back in the cool saltwater. You sighed, looking at the scales of your fin with a pout.

"Hey," he said, his hand cupping the side of your face. "I know you said this isn't a fairytale, but no matter what, whether you're like me or you're a mermaid, you're my totally amazing, and super gorgeous princess of the sea."

You smiled wide, reaching up to wrap your arms around him. You accidentally pulled him in so that he fell in the water. "Barley!" you gasped, but he lifted his head out of the water and laughed, then splashed you. You grinned and splashed him back. "Barley, what are you doing?"

"Come on," he said, kicking his legs as he swam backwards. "Let's just hang out here for a while."

"You're going to be soaked on your way home," you said, following him out to the water.

"Who cares?" he said. "Just, if a sea monster comes to grab me, make sure you save me."

"Barley, I don't think that sea monsters live in here," you said.

"You never know when a sea serpent will come and take you away. Or a sea dragon."

"Well, I've never seen one of those," you said, shrugging.

"That's because they attack when you least expect it!" He lunged forward, wrapping his arms around you and tugging you close.

You laughed loudly, prying his arms off of you. "Bar, stop it!"

He caught your hand in his and smiled softly. His fingers intertwined with yours above the water. "You'll come back?"

"Someday I'll be." You smiled. "Someday I'll be back."

He nodded. "Next week I'll meet you on the shoreline."

"Okay," you said. You leaned in and kissed him softly with your eyes closed. You pulled back and he started to swim backwards, back towards the sand. You waved as he got out of the water.

"Bye, babe!" he called out, cupping his hands around his mouth. "I'll see you soon."

You nodded and you watched him go. As he drove away, you remained close to the shore.

You didn't want to leave the shoreline.

You didn't want to leave him.

You didn't want him to leave.

Someday, you repeated to yourself. Someday.

/ / /

tomorrow is double update day!

also i will be announcing my new writing schedule so that i can fit in 2 days of onward writing, 1 day of star wars or marvel imagines, 1 day of Monochromatic, and 1 day of a brand new full length Barley Lightfoot x Reader fic that you'll hear more about later on!!