Soulmate clocks were supposed to be accurate down to the very second, but Logan found that difficult to believe. Here he was, in the middle of the ocean, with his clock ticking down closer and closer to zero yet there was no one around other than the crew. Supposedly when his clock hit zero he would feel the touch of his soulmate for the first time. This person would become the catalyst for the rest of his life, pushing him to grow more as a person than anyone ever had before. He was skeptical. Logan's mother had always been against soulmates, her own being someone Logan never met, and whom his mom had said was a 'vile and terrible person'.

Her vitriol had always made him hesitate to believe that soulmates were real. It was possible that people simply met this 'destined' person and made it work because many things could be achieved with a proper amount of structure and hard work. Relationships were no exception. Some relationships would fail, there are often insurmountable gaps in people's personalities, but 'failed' soulmates were rare. Logan's theory was that confirmation bias made those people seem like outliers. Either way, Logan would make sure to take proper data about the passing of his own clock and if it proved to be incorrect that would be the subject of his next research paper. He wasn't betting his life on it though. He had other avenues of research that he was currently pursuing. For example, Logan had signed up to be part of a marine life research group, following the ocean tides to record data. It was a peaceful life, one he was rather enjoying, but his timer was down to three hours, forty-five minutes, and approximately twelve seconds. With no boats on the horizon, he did not foresee his timer reaching zero as he reached for the hand of someone new.

What he did foresee was the storm that was beginning to make the ocean hard to navigate. Logan had been preparing the ship, tying down what needed to be tied down and making sure all precision equipment was somewhere safe from the coming rain, but it wasn't enough. He could calculate the odds and outcomes in his head and his theoretical numbers were comforting. A shiver ran through his spine as he heard the first crack of thunder in the distance, and the wind whipped around his normally controlled hair. They were too far out to seek safe harbor now. It would be better to escape into his own head.

What if his timer went off as he sunk to the bottom of the ocean? He would never be able to pursue the contradicting data that would bring. Was it possible for his timer to match an event rather than a person? He had never heard of anything similar to that before.

Logan kept his mind occupied as the waves rose higher and higher. He did his job, performing everything to the best of his ability, but he knew it wouldn't be enough. A wave towered over the boat, hanging in mid air and Logan had a brief moment of clarity where he knew exactly what was going to happen. He closed his eyes, fully understanding the idiom of one's life 'flashing before their eyes'.

Then, he lost consciousness.

At least, that was the most logical explanation. Otherwise, why would he be waking up, mind in a mild haze, clothes slightly damp, and the feeling of sand squishing under him? He was surprised to have survived, but he could still feel his body running on instinct. The waves, somewhere, were still crashing violently, but Logan was beginning to dry. He couldn't hear the thunder of the storm. Had it passed? He must be under some kind of covering though because the rain must still be falling. His mind couldn't piece through the clues so he began to look around.

"Where am I?" He mused out loud, blindly feeling his surroundings for his glasses once he realized he couldn't see.

"In my home. You know, it's rather rude to not ask for an invitation but I'll forgive you considering the circumstances." The voice was soft and smooth like silk, it's sound pulling at something deep within the back of Logan's subconscious.

"Apologies, it was not my intention to intrude."

"Really, and I soooo thought that was a human trait, to intrude where you aren't wanted," Logan could hear the shifting sand as someone walked closer "but you might be worth it."

Logan's face scrunched up, his hands pausing in the sand. "A human trait, you state that as if you are not human yourself."

"That's because I'm not."

Logan saw a blur walk over to him, and felt a scaled hand slip on his glasses, bringing the world into focus. Scales, why were there scales? And where exactly was he? He was inside of a cave, or cavern, but it had the feeling of a deep sea air pocket. Logan assumes it would have been too dark to see if not for the bioluminescent moss that covered the ceiling. His mind was pulling him in all directions at once, tring to take everything in until his eyes fell on the man in front of him. He looked tall from Logan's position on the ground and he had glittering scales that ran down the side of his body. Logan was transfixed. He looked over every inch before reaching the face, a smirk and a quirk of the eyebrows showing that this person was amused by Logan's stunned look.

"Um... thank you." Logan pushed himself up, trying to gather his thoughts. "My name is Logan." he held out his hand and the man looked at it curiously for a moment before holding out his own. Obviously this was not a shared custom.

"You'll have to earn mine. Now, why don't you tell me about the numbers on your wrist?"

Logan looked down at his timer, which was no longer counting down but had a fixed time and date, statically staring back at him. "A human occurrence, I assume, where the numbers on our wrists count down until we meet a fated person who is supposed to be our... catalyst." Logan was still hesitant to call it a soulmate.

"Interesting." The man turned over his own wrist so that Logan could see the matching numbers. "So we are fated? Well then, I'm glad I chose to save you after all."

Logan blinked, comparing the two dates and numbers. There were exactly the same, down to the last second. Logan wasn't sure if he should be disappointed that he was proven wrong, or elated that this person... creature... definitely not human, was his fated.

"I am glad as well," The words came out so quietly, he could barely form a thought. All of the different questions and scenarios were running through his mind until it all came to a screeching halt.

"I have so many questions." Logan lit up, mind forgetting the crashing waves above and around him. His brief moment of staring death in the face was gone and he was now happily facing his future. If this man was his catalyst he was okay with that.

"Of course, I have questions for you as well."

Logan fought back a smile, not wanting to show the emotional affect this discovery had on him. He had never been so excited to be proven wrong, this was indeed his catalyst.

"I guess if you are staying I should give you something to call me, Janus." The man smirked again and Logan could feel his excitement grow.

"Is that your real name?"

"I guess you'll have to earn an answer to that question." He said before beckoning Logan deeper into the cave. If they were each other's fate, they had a lifetime together to answer questions.

AN: So I know this one isn't as strong as the first one but I still really like the idea of merman Janus showing Logan the underwater world, because think about how much Janus would tease him! Telling him wrong information just to see him get flustered... I don't know it's super cute in my head.