Woops, it's been six months since I've updated this. Then again, I've written a lot of words for other things that I ended up delaying this. But hey, finally done this chapter, plus it's a longer one! Hope it makes up for it!

Warnings: censored swearing, brief mention of a desire to murder, very non-graphic mention of dissection

When Sophie came down the stairs to eat breakfast, she was surprised to hear that it was relatively quiet. The door to Keefe's room was open wide, which was weird, because if they were awake there was bound to be some noise. Especially since they'd just discovered caffeine, and combining that with their energetic nature usually meant noise.

She entered the living room and found Keefe and Fitz sitting on one of the couches, oddly quiet.

"What are you two—"

"Shh," Keefe shushed her, not even turning to look at her.

She silently sat down on top of the couch in between where they were sitting so she could watch what they were doing.

Keefe was... drawing. Drawing Fitz. She shouldn't have been surprised, they'd asked Fitz if they could draw him earlier, so she wasn't sure why she was surprised.

Maybe it was the silence. Keefe was a loud person, so seeing them so quietly focused drew her attention. Their eyes were narrowed, lips scrunched upwards. It was different, something she hadn't seen before.

...then again, Sophie had known Keefe for about two weeks.

Why did it feel longer? Why did it feel like they'd known each other for much longer? And despite their not-so-great first interaction, they had become someone that she cared about.

She looked at the drawing that they were holding, and wow. She already knew they could draw well, but even a rough sketch was enough to take her breath away.

"It looks real," she said, and to her surprise the words came out a little breathless.

"Really?" Fitz asked, the first words that he'd spoken since she'd arrived.

He got up from where he was sitting and leaned over towards Keefe, his hands planted beside them to support his weight.

"Oh wow, it does," Fitz agreed, "that's so good, I might have to keep it."

"You want to keep a drawing of your own face?" Keefe teased, but Sophie managed to pick up something off about their tone, though she had no idea what it was.

"I meant more because you drew it," Fitz replied, his head tilting down, and many years of knowing him made her realize that he did that when he realized he hadn't meant to say that.

"Huh," Keefe replied. "Alright, move Fitzy, you're in my face."

"Oh, yeah, okay," Fitz replied, looking down and realizing that he was above Keefe, a sheepish smile that came when he was embarrassed.

He moved one of his hands to shift his weight to get up, only for his hand to slip and he lost balance. He landed directly on top of Keefe, head knocking against their chin.

"Ow," Fitz mumbled.

He tried to get up again, and Sophie couldn't see his face from this angle, but she could see Keefe's. She could see a faint flush on their face.

It was... cute.

Wait I am not going to think about that shove it away stay back—

Before she realized it, her leg had slid off of the couch and next thing she knew she was sliding off, crashing into Fitz—who was getting up—and they both tumbled to the floor.

"Crap, sorry, are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, you?" Fitz replied, and oh, they were mirroring the position Keefe and Fitz had just been in, only now it was Fitz who was below her.

God. His eyes were so pretty. Sophie could never grow tired of that brilliant teal, and up close she could see the various shades. It wasn't often that she got this close to him, seeing his eyes widen and his breathing slow as if time had frozen.

"Sophie?" Fitz asked, his voice merely a breath.

She blinked. "Huh?" Then she remembered that he'd asked her a question. "Yeah, I'm fine."

She should probably get up. She should get up before the proximity did something to her brain and she did something she wouldn't be able to take back. It wasn't like Fitz was telling her to get up though...

A heartbeat fluttered under her fingers, a series of staccato thumping. It took her a moment to realize it wasn't hers, but Fitz's. Her own heartbeat had been overlaid on top, loud to her ears.

God, am I a high-schooler or something?

"I just got crushed by Fitzy—who is heavy by the way—and nearly slammed in the face by Foster's elbow, are neither of you gonna ask if I'm okay?" Keefe whined.

Their words pierced the barrier that had been separating the two from the world, and all of her senses kicked in at once. She quickly rolled off. She glared at Keefe, who only smirked.

"Are you okay?" she asked reluctantly, humouring them.

Maybe it'd distract Fitz from whatever had just happened. That's what she was hoping, at least.

"Oh, I'm perfectly fine Foster, thanks."

"What was the point in asking then?" Fitz asked, and Sophie wasn't brave enough to look at his face.

"I found it rude that you forgot about me," they replied. "Also we should probably get breakfast. I'm hungry. Give me food."

"I can make you two some breakfast," Fitz offered, getting up. He'd made breakfast enough for her over the years that she wordlessly accepted it.

"Ooh, what does a breakfast made by Fitzy look like?" Keefe asked.

"Come with me and you'll find out. Sophie already told me you're useless in the kitchen so I'll have to show you."

Keefe turned to Sophie, gaping. Sophie just shrugged with a smile. They put a hand to their chest, offended, then followed Fitz into the kitchen.

"So," Biana said from beside her—when the hell did she get there???—"tell me about Keefe."

Sophie startled, not noticing her presence. "This is not the time nor place to interrogate me about crushes!" she whispered through her teeth.

Biana only raised an eyebrow. "I was referring to how you two met, because 'we knew each other online' felt off, but if you think there's something to talk about when it comes to your romantic life..."

Sophie shook her head vigorously, sure that her face was heating up. "Online friends! Talked a little bit, learned we live in the same city—"

"You told a stranger which city you lived in?" Biana asked, "I know you of all people wouldn't do something like that."

"They accidentally mentioned the transportation system, forgetting that its unique," Sophie said, fumbling for an excuse. "So I ended up telling them to make things feel less one-sided."

Biana nodded. "So then you ran into them and took them in?"

"Well, that was the gist," Sophie said, knowing that her previous excuse of 'happening to run into them' had a very low likelihood of actually happening. "They made a brief post about their circumstances and then I offered to meet up."

"And that's why you left without telling anyone? Sophie, you left your phone at home, and didn't tell anyone that you were leaving, or that you were going to bring someone in."

"I panicked?" Which was actually the truth.

"And what's up with the fact that they had nothing on them? Not a single piece of ID, no money, no clothes, if I didn't know better, I'd say that you were housing some kind of mythological creature."

It took all of her willpower to flinch or laugh nervously. "Well, they had some really sh*tty parents, that's all I can say."

Not for the first time, Sophie wondered what Keefe's life had been like back before they had become a siren. Had it been a good life, until one moment tore it all apart, or had it been made up of moment after moment of misery, unstable enough that the slightest thing made them ready to give it up?

"Yeah, definitely," Biana agreed. Maybe she didn't like the topic of conversation anymore, because she added, "is there anything new about your love life that you'd like to tell me?"

Sophie rolled her eyes, cursing how easy it was to fluster her. "Did I ever tell you that for being uninterested in romance, you're very invested in mine?"

"Well, if I'm not gonna live it through myself, I have to do it through someone else," Biana shrugged.

At least this little interaction was familiar, they've both said things similar to this a few times in the past.

"And also, that wasn't a no," Biana grinned.

Sophie gaped. "Hey!"

"Fine, fine. Hey, what's Keefe's social media, I wanna follow them," Biana said.

Sophie stiffened, then hoped she wasn't being too obvious. "Ask them? They're... surprisingly private online."

Biana narrowed her eyes. "Keefe?"

"Did you just call my name?" They asked, peeping out of the kitchen to look at them.

"What's your social media account?" Biana asked.

It's private, Sophie mouthed, hoping Keefe understood that.

"That's a secret," they replied with a grin, "if you wanna follow me, you gotta find me first!"

"How the hell am I supposed to find you if you don't give me a hint?" Biana asked.

They shrugged, and Sophie was grateful for their mildly irritating, easy-going nature which made it easy to get out of situations that she'd normally find stressful to deal with. Honestly, without them, she would have had no clue as to how she would have dealt with the situation. Having someone to talk to was relieving on its own, but Sophie was sure that even then, she would have had breakdown after breakdown and she would not have been able to get any information. Keefe was distracting, and they were fun, and they helped her not feel like everything was falling apart.

"Hey, breakfast is ready," Fitz called out. He handed a plate to Keefe, then brought the other one to the dining table for Sophie.

Sophie and Keefe ate their breakfast, while Fitz and Biana sat with them to keep them company.

"Oh wow Fitzy, you have got to cook for me every day," Keefe said, while chewing.

"Don't talk with your mouth full," Fitz chided. "And I will not be doing this every day."

They quickly swallowed their mouthful of food. "Aw, why not? How long have you been doing it for Foster?"

"I don't make them for her that often. Besides, Sophie and I have known each other for a decade," he explained.

"Oh, huh," they said, looking back and forth between her and Fitz.

She wasn't sure exactly as to what realization they were having, but she glared at them anyway.

Biana hummed. "Say, Keefe, do you have a crush on anyone?"

They rested their hands behind their head. "Maybe, why?"

"Just curious. I like seeing romances, they're cute, so I wondered if you were planning to date someone and bring them here. It's nice getting new company."

Sophie narrowed her eyes at Biana, wondering if this had to do with their conversation from earlier.

"Who knows, maybe it'll be multiple 'someone's," they mused.

"That would be fun," Biana replied. "The more the merrier. Hmm, do you have a crush on some of your other friends? I can't remember their names but you and Sophie went to visit them together?"

"Huh? Marella and Linh? No—no, they're lesbians. Super into each other."

"Wait, really?" Sophie blurted.

"No offense Foster, but you don't seem like you recognize other people's crushes."

To her dismay, both Biana and Fitz nodded. "Uh—wait, why are we making this about me?"

"Keefe, you should have your friends visit," Fitz suggested, taking mercy on her.

Sophie and Keefe traded a look. Can't really visit us if they're sirens.

"Hmm, maybe it'll happen soon."

She was then reminded of the fact that if they found a way for Sophie to remain human, it would probably allow those two to turn back into humans too. It'd be nice, having them around.

"Hey, Sophie, are you free to go shopping with me after your shift?" Biana asked.

"I have plans with Keefe, what do you need?"

"Huh, you go out with them several times a week," Fitz remarked.

"Jealous, Fitzy?" Keefe asked, wiggling their eyebrows. Fitz narrowed his eyes. "Jealous you aren't getting any quality time with the Keefester?"

"Don't ever call yourself that again," Sophie snorted, and Fitz put a hand to his mouth as if he were trying to stifle a laugh. "Is it important, Biana?"

Biana glanced at Fitz for a brief moment. What did she mean by that? Why not just say it out loud—

Oh sh*t. It's Fitz's birthday in a couple of weeks. Sophie wasn't that great at keeping track of time, but this was something she never failed to forget.

"Is the weekend fine?" Sophie asked. "We could go together in a few days."

Biana nodded. "Yeah, that's fine. Have fun on your little outing with Keefe. I might go see what Maruca's doing, I haven't seen her in a while."

"Have fun!"

•~•~•~•~•~•

"How's the research going?" Sophie asked Marella and Linh.

"We might have a lead?" Marella shrugged.

"It's not guaranteed to mean anything, but I think there's someone who knows another siren who has been a siren for two decades," Linh added.

"Two decades?" Sophie squawked. Two decades of being trapped in the water, forbidden to make strong connections with others? She'd only been alive for a few years more than that. Sophie was a person who had few friends, but those friends were people she would give her life for. She couldn't imagine spending her life without them.

(Wouldn't that be what would happen if Sophie wasn't able to become human again?)

"Supposedly, this siren likes solitude, so don't stress over it, otherwise they would have sought out a heart already," Marella said. "How have you been feeling?"

"Okay, I think," Sophie replied. "Nothing crazy has really happened. And I don't think my withdrawals are coming any faster yet."

"You're sure or you can't remember?" Marella asked.

Sophie blinked. "What do you mean?"

Keefe cursed under their breath, and that only made Sophie more worried.

"Well, you know that once a human becomes a siren, they lose their memories," Linh said slowly.

This time, it was Sophie's turn to murmur curses. The thought hadn't occurred to her that her memories would be impacted the same way everything else would. How fast would it happen? How would she know how many things that she'd forgotten if she couldn't remember in the first place? Which memories would be the first to go? Was it in chronological order? Would it be in terms of the value of the memory? Or—

"Hey, relax," Keefe soothed, hands moving to rest on her shoulders—only for seafoam to repel them.

It was only a reminder of what her life was if she couldn't figure out how to stop the transformation. Loneliness, and physically being unable to touch.

"If you don't mind, can I ask you for a favour before we leave?" Linh asked sheepishly, one of ver hands gently rubbing at ver wrist, where ver brother's name was inked into ver skin.

"Yeah, of course, what is it?" Sophie replied.

Sophie realized just how much Linh and Marella were doing for them. Sure, they wanted to become human too, and sure, they knew Keefe and wanted to help them, but she couldn't help but feel eternally grateful for having the two of them help out so much.

"I wanted..." ve looked down, smiling, "I wanted to know what holding someone's hand felt like, if it would work while you were in your human form."

Oh. Without the memories of the past, and being unable to touch someone's hand, no siren could hold hands with someone else.

"We can definitely see if it works," Sophie said, and they all swam to the nearest piece of land. She recognized this as the place that she'd met Keefe.

Sophie crawled on to the sand, turning to face Linh. She offered her hand to ver.

Ve looked at it, eyes wide, and ve slowly began to reach for ver hand. To Sophie, it wasn't anything special, it was just a wet hand, but Linh had frozen, gaze fixated on their joined hands.

"So... how does it feel?" Sophie asked, feeling a little awkward.

Linh let out a quiet hum, ver hand slowly shifting, their fingers linked and unlinked and it felt a little strange but Sophie figured that if she said anything else, ve would stop. It was fine, and this was the least that she could do for ver.

"I'm not being weird, am I?" Linh asked.

"It's okay," she replied.

"Is it okay if Marella does it too?"

Marella, who had been silently watching the entire time, turned to ver with wide eyes.

"Yeah, she can."

Marella approached her slowly, as if looking for a sign that Sophie was uncomfortable. But then she rested her hand against the back of Sophie's, with Linh's against the front. Only an inch separated the two.

Marella leaned her forehead against her hand, and Linh mirrored the action.

Okay Biana, I think I finally get why you're so invested in other peoples' romances.

Both of the two sirens' eyes fluttered shut as they stayed still, as if trying to engrave this moment into both of their memories. This action must have meant more to them then Sophie had originally thought.

Eventually, they both moved away, red dusting their cheeks, though Linh's complexion made it less obvious.

"Thank you," Linh murmured. "We'll get going now. We probably won't be back for a while."

"Stay safe," Sophie wished them.

The two of them dove back into the water.

"You up for going back home yet, Foster?" Keefe asked.

Sophie scooted closer to the water so she could submerge her legs in the water. They morphed into a red tail, glistening in the light of the setting sun. Something like this would have been a dream come true for elementary school kid Sophie Foster. Losing memories and staying in solitude wouldn't have mattered back when she had no family or friends to forget. Now though? That shiny tail only made her nauseous, only made her heart pang with agony because of the things that she could lose if they couldn't find an answer, if they weren't fast enough.

One look at Sophie's heart, and Keefe seemed to understand. It was easy this way, nice that they could understand how she was feeling without her having to use words. They leaned over, resting their hands near her tail.

"Can I?" they asked.

Sophie didn't know what they were asking for, but compared to their first meeting, where they called her "sweetheart" without permission, or leaned right into her space without warning, this was different. They weren't one to ask first.

"Okay," she said.

Their hands moved under her tail, and she realized that this was the first time that someone else had touched her tail. She sucked in a breath at the feeling of their cold hands touching her. Her tail was delicately lifted out of the water; shifting back into human legs. The hands trembled briefly, at the change in both weight distribution and that her legs were now covered with her pants, then stabilized as they turned her around a little bit; enough that her legs could stretch out and not touch the water.

Her legs were set down on the sand. She... had no clue what the point of that was. But before she could ask, Keefe moved again, rolling on to their back and leaning backwards, putting all of their weight on their elbows. She couldn't see their face from this angle, their back turned to her.

"Can I?" they asked again.

Can you what? she wanted to ask, but instead hummed in agreement.

They leaned backward, and oh, their head was now in her lap. This... was not an occurrence that happened often. She was pretty used to laying her head on Fitz or sometimes Biana, but it was rare for it to be the other way around.

She could easily shove them off if she wanted to, and Keefe knew that too, which was why despite being vague, they still asked. And it was probably probably for that reason that she just left them there. It was kind of comfy, actually.

"Let's stay human here for a little longer," Keefe whispered, and Sophie finally understood their actions.

•~•~•~•~•~•

Tam thought that after a few months of being human, se would feel human. Instead, se felt like a fake. And on the Neverseen's boat, surrounded by siren hunters, se really had to work extra hard to seem human.

"So this is Tam Song, the new recruit," an unfamiliar voice said.

Se had put names to everyone on the boat, but there was one name that se had heard of who se'd never met.

"I prefer Tam. You're Vespera?"

Vespera raised an eyebrow. "Quick at learning names, it seems?"

"I'm a quick learner," se said.

"Gisela may have let you join us easy, however, it doesn't mean that you'll have it easy." She narrowed her eyes, the atmosphere turning tense, reminding sym of Gisela. "We do run background checks. Why is it that you've been declared as "dead" for three years?"

Se wasn't surprised by that question; every job se'd gone to had asked variants of that question, but se never liked having to explain. Someone like Vespera would be extra cautious. It was time to tell them the lie that se had rehearsed for two weeks.

"There was an accident," se said, "you would have noticed that my sister was involved too."

Vespera nodded.

"Official records say we were lost in a storm, right?"

She nodded again. "That implies that it is false."

"There was a storm, my sister and I did fall. Those parts are true. However, there is more to it than that. My parents were emotionally abusive, until the point that it wore us down enough for a siren to come." Se mixed in truths; put enough of them in there so the next part of syr story would seem believable. "We both fell, my sister was turned into a siren, and the siren who had cursed ver nursed me back to health."

"Nursed you back to health?" Vespera raised an eyebrow.

"It was to make sure I wasn't dead, at first. To a siren, they would do anything to become human once more, they will prey on anyone with a broken heart. However, they didn't want any actual blood on their hands."

"And then?"

"They took care of me. They were suspicious, at first, worried that I would expose their secret. Or take revenge for what they had done to my sister. But the fall caused me to have amnesia. They had me live with them, and even told me about their life as a siren."

"A siren keeps their memories once they become human?"

"They do."

"Do they regain their memories from their human life?"

"No." Technically, that wasn't a lie, it applied to most sirens. However, Tam would not tell them that there was a way to regain one's memories, not when that would make sym look suspicious.

"Why would this siren tell you about their life? You told me that they had been concerned about you exposing their identity."

Se resisted the urge to tug at syr glove, where a name itched on syr wrist. But to give in to that temptation meant showing hesitance and weakness, and se could not afford to show any weakness to any member of the Neverseen.

"I couldn't give any definitive reasons. Maybe they grew fond of me and decided to tell me. Maybe they felt responsible for me and told me out of guilt. Maybe they were afraid of the day I regained my memories and thought that I'd react less harshly if they could make me sympathetic to sirens."

"Are you? Sympathetic to them, that is?"

"I wanted to kill them when I regained my memories and realized what they done to my sister," se said, forcing symself to sound a tad bitter, though, syr next words came out much easier. "They stole my sister from me, the only person who I loved. I wanted to make them pay."

"Well, did you?" A different voice asked.

Se almost whirled around, realizing that it was Gisela speaking. Damn it, when did she get there without sym noticing?

"I left them," se replied. "I didn't want to take a human life. I moved out and went from job to job, until I found someone who knew the same thing as I did. That sirens are real, and they are cruel creatures that must be exposed. The knowledge that I could make them beg for mercy the same way they never give mercy to a human would only be an additional benefit."

"Interesting. Would you be interested in a dissection of a siren?"

"I would gladly watch."

Perhaps syr words were a little too violent, but being with the Neverseen, even if only for a few days had already taught Tam that they—the leaders Gisela and Vespera in particular—valued cold-hearted ruthlessness. Put enough emotion into syr words, openly despise everything about sirens, and they would never suspect sym of lying. Would never suspect sym of syr true motives.

Once I find you Linh, I'll turn you human, and we will live out the lives that had been taken from us.