Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The sky was a pained blue, with angry grey clouds and distant lightning. Riding on the ocean was a large ship, rocking with the waves. Top the ship was a man with dark hair, a dark grey canvas jacket, a blue linen shirt, black trousers, and black knee boots. His shoulder-length, curly hair was tied behind his head.

Joe had never had a stable home. That's the big thing about being an orphan, no home, no family, no place to truly belong. As Joe walked across the wooden boards of the ship he was hit with a strong sea breeze. The sea was the only place Joe had ever known as home, when he was 10 his mother had left him and a small bag of his effects on the docks. She left with a promise that she would return, and a young Joe stayed on the dock. The rain came, and the young boy stayed. It was there on the dock that he remained until one day an older man came by his way.

“I’m Mooney, who are you lad?”

“I’m Joe Goldberg.”

“Where is your family Joe?”

“My mom said she’d be back. But that was a while ago.” The kid looked down to the ground as the older man stared down at him.

“Come with me kid.” The young boy and Mooney walked down the dock towards a tall building. Mooney pushed the heavy doors aside as him and Joe walked in. Inside the establishment were women and men, many of them drunk. There were people at the bar, the room was poorly lit, relying only on candles. Drunken as they were the people were loud, yelling across the room and carelessly moving their bodies and drinks. Joe lifted his shoe and couldn’t help but notice the way it met resistance, the alcohol causing his shoe to stick. “Follow me.” The older man grabbed the back of his shirt, leading him through the crowded room.

He dragged the boy to the back of the room before shouting, “has anyone lost a child?!” He pulled Joe up by the back of his shirt, showcasing him to the crowd. He was met with a chorus of, “no”, “get lost,” and “not one of mine.” That was the day that Joe’s life changed forever. With no claim on him, Mooney took him to live with him. Wherever the older man went the younger followed. Mooney often brought Joe along with him on his voyages, the boy cleaning up after the crew and learning the ways of the ship. He made a friend along the way, another boy on the ship, Ethan. Ethan however did not stay as long as Joe did. His friend left the ship in their teenage years, stating that he was in love and decided to leave the sea for her.

Now that years had passed, and there was a terrible storm underway, Joe wished he had left the ship as well. Maybe things could have been different, if he had left with Ethan the same day that he had met Blythe then maybe he would also be working in town, in a local bookstore with a baby on the way. Joe shook away the daydream, he had to scramble to stay on the ship. His coat was drenched and the waves came crashing down. His hair had fallen loose from the tie and his eyeliner was severely smudged. A couple of crates slid down the deck beside him, the ship rocked violently. The crew’s youngest member was soaking, shockingly close to the edge of the ship. He wrapped his arm in rope anchored to the center of the ship. “PACO.” Joe ran to the boy, grabbed him, and forced him to anchor himself to the rope. It was then that the sirens began to sing.

There were several of them by the rocks less than a mile away from the ship. Their skin was tinted blue, littered with scales. Their tails flowed long from their waist down. The tails were different shades but all colors of the sea. One had a cobalt blue tail, another an emerald green, the two owners of the tails were closer to each other than the others. The one with the green tail was feminine, she had mid-length brown hair and blue eyes she sang with sorrow. The blue-tailed siren had short, dark hair and big blue eyes. His mouth was shut, and his arms were crossed. He leaned against the rock, watching his fellow sirens lure the crew into the water.

Joe stood on the deck of the ship, holding onto Paco, yelling at him to plug his ears. The young boy did not deserve the fate that the sirens brought. As they sang the two watched as the waves crashed onto them and their crewmates fell victim to the siren’s song. The eyes of Fincher and Calvin glazed over, they dropped their ropes and the boat rocked and they tumbled into the ocean. A couple of the sirens dove to keep them under the water. From the corner of his eye, Joe saw a body peeking out of the cockpit. Her black braid was glued to her skull, and her eyes glazed over, barely staying open as she walked. Joe took Paco’s scarf and wrapped it around his head to block out the noise; afterward, he tied Paco to the pole holding up the main sail. “KEEP YOUR EARS COVERED.” Joe ran to the other young crew member.

The boat rocked again, and they were hit with another wave. Joe was washed up on the other side of the ship. He coughed up the water, stumbling to a crouch. He looked around, frantically for the girl. “ELLIE!” Another wave rocked the boat. “ELLIE!” He looked around, he saw a hand and another siren join the others under the water. He glanced at Paco before jumping into the water to look for her. He breached the water and swam deeper into the dark and cold waters. It wasn’t long until the darkness consumed him, the cold slowed his heart rate and his body went limp. A last few bubbles of air escaped from his mouth. 

Chapter Text

Despite the rain, and the wild waves it was not difficult to see a man jump into the ocean from his ship. Forty had seen this occur many times, he was a siren in a pod of sirens of course. However, all his pod had stopped singing. He was the only one above water and he knew he was not the one who had called the man into the ocean. Forty pushed off the rocks, slipped into the ocean, and swam toward the man. 

Once he located the man, floating through the dark sea water, he grabbed him. He latched onto the man’s jacket and pulled him up to break the surface, he knew that humans couldn’t last long underwater. After assuring himself that the man was indeed, still living Forty dragged the man behind him toward the shore. The ship was long gone, with only fragments remaining. The sky was clearing up, the clouds vacating the sky. It almost looked as if there was never a storm at all. The waves had seduced the ship and wreckage, and the sky was now light blue, with no traces of purple left. 

Once they reached the rocks and the sand of the shore Forty had to drag himself and the other man onto the shore. His tail was heavy outside the water, dragging through the sand it felt like an anchor. He laid the other man on his back, far enough into the shoreline that the tide did not douse him again and again. With a sigh Forty sat next to the man, transforming his tail into two legs, and watching the ocean and its tide. With the transformation of his tail, his skin lost it’s blue tint, and the scales specking his body disappeared. In the distance he saw the fins of his sister, she looked at him from the ocean, eyes furrowed. Why are you on the shore Forty?

Didn’t want to get in your way. 

It’s fine. Just come back out.

I think I’ll just stay here for a bit, actually Love.

Forty I don’t know if that’s a good idea.

I’ll be fine Love, just go have fun with the pod. I’ll be back later.

Forty…

Love I’ll be fine, I promise. Love left with furrowed brows slowly. And suddenly breathing was easier, his shoulders fell and he leaned back to bask in the reemerged sun. She heard a groan to his side. Upon looking at the man, laid delicately upon the shore Forty realized that he was missing many an article of clothing. He stood on weak legs, walking away from the man’s body to go to his stash. Forty’s stash of human things wasn’t too far away, just held within a small cave carved side of a large rock on the island. This wasn’t Forty’s first time on the island, and certainly wouldn’t be his last.

His human clothes weren’t the most fashionable, outdated, and plain to most humans, but some clothing was better than none he supposed. He pulled on a light green linen shirt, brown trousers, brown boots, and dark green jacket. The buttons on the jacket were tarnished and there were occasional holes in the pants and shirt. After dressing he made the short trek back to the man he brought ashore. 

It seemed just in the nick of time because once he arrived there the man began to rustle. The man woke slowly, moving every once in a while. Forty just sat a couple of feet away and watched the ocean as he waited for his new companion to wake up. “Where am I?” The human sat up, leaning against his forearm to look at the other man. With his other hand, he rubbed his temples. 

“Some island. I’d guess around Greece somewhere.” 

“Wait… where's Ellie?!” Joe quickly rose to his feet, before running towards the water. Forty rose and followed him, wrapping his arms around the man’s middle and hauling him away from the ocean. 

“Who’s Ellie?” The other man fought back, wrestling to get free from the Forty’s hold. “Hey! That’s the ocean man, you’re gonna drown if you go out there.” Joe gave up, laying limp against the brunette, they crashed against the sand, Joe still being cradled by Forty. 

“Ellie, she jumped off the ship, the sirens… they… they got her, called her to the ocean.” Joe put his head into his hands, his back to the other man. “I… and Paco.” He turned to face Forty. He placed his hands on the siren’s shoulders. “Did anyone else wash up? A… a boy about 12? Or a teen girl? They both have dark hair…” Forty shook his head, looking at the ground, avoiding eye contact. Joe tried to look into his eyes anyway.

“I’m… I’m sorry. I didn’t see anyone else. It was just you. You washed up and I found you.” Joe’s face fell, and for the first time in years, he began to weep. 

“I failed.” 

“Sport… you didn’t fail. I mean you jumped in to save her. Not many people would do that.” 

“How did you know that? You said you found me washed up?” Forty backed away. He then made a run for it, kicking up sand as he went. Joe ran after him. The siren was unused to land, his shaky legs not taking him far. Joe still managed to catch up to him and tackle him to the ground. Forty lay underneath Joe, scrambling to escape from the other man’s grip. Joe flipped the other man over to look him in the eyes. “How did you know?!” Forty flinched, and his hands came up to protect his face.

“I SAW! I’m a siren and I… I saw. I brought you to shore, okay? I saw you jump in and I brought you here.” Joe backed away, still straddling Forty’s hips, but hands at his sides now.

“No… that's crazy. You don’t look like a Siren.” 

“If you get off of me I can show you how much I do.” Joe, now aware of the position he was in, stood up, dusting the sand off his pants. The other man stood up and began to make his trek to the ocean. Joe gestured his hand to the ocean, before grabbing the man’s hand.

“Before you get any idea of escaping.” Forty moved in close, placing a hand on Joe’s chest.

“I’m a siren you know. I could just sing. And you’d let go, you’d walk into the ocean for me if that's what I wanted sport.” 

“You’re not going to do that.”

“Why not?”

“Because I saw you too. Before I jumped I looked at the sirens, and I noticed something. One of them didn’t sing. You didn’t sing.”

Chapter Text

“So why don’t you sing?” The two men sat on the beach, about a foot or two away from each other. Joe held his hands together, forearms over his knees, and Forty leaned back on his forearms in the sand.
“Last time, it didn’t work out well.” He looked at the other man, before standing up and walking further inland.
“Forty! Care to elaborate?” Joe followed the other man, kicking up the sand as they went. It wasn’t too long until they came upon Forty’s favorite spot, a waterfall, with a cave nearby. Forty striped his clothes near the bank, before slipping into the water. Joe averted his eyes until he heard the sound of the water splash. When he turned around Forty was tinted blue, with scales near his hairline, his neck, and dotting his shoulders until it reached his waist where his tail spouted from. “I don’t think that will ever not be weird.”
“Come on in Old Sport. The water is great.” Forty leaned back, lying on the surface tension of the water, his face and body soaking in the rays of sun that fell through the leaves of the trees.
“Forty…” Joe sat off to the side, his feet in the water before he heard foot steps, and then a voice, a female one.
“Forty!” Forty rocked himself upright in the water. He looked around frantically for the source of the voice. Joe’s head swung around in the direction of Forty’s line of vision. There was a woman there, she had mid-length light brown hair, and blue eyes. She was wearing a delicate, light blue dress, with cap sleeves, it fell to about ankle length.
“Love? What are you doing here?” Forty swam to the end of the pool, towards Love. She ran to the edge to join him. She slid to the ground, scrapping her knees as she did so. She pulled his hands into hers.
“I was worried, you didn’t come back… It’s been days Forty.” He pulled his hands away from hers.
“I’m sorry Love I just lost track of time… I didn’t realize-”
“With a human Forty?” She looked at Joe and then pulled Forty close. “You know what they are capable of…”
“Love I’m okay. Joe-”
“Joe? You learned his name?” Love frowned, picking at her lip with her fingertips. “The pod… you could get kicked out just for talking with him Forty…”
“So? What did they ever do for me Love? What did they ever do for you? You saw what they did to James.” Love took a sharp instake, she looked at her brother with watery eyes.
“Exactly. I saw what they did to James, they made me watch! He’s dead, and it's going to happen again if they catch you.”
“Lovey… Leave the pod with me. We don’t need them. We could move to a village inland, you could learn how to make human food!”
“Forty let’s go.” She pulled his arm.
“No! I’m not going. You can go.” Love steamed as she stormed off, knocking into Joe as she went. The man had given the two some distance for privacies sake. Upon seeing the woman leave he decided to take up her spot on the edge of the pool. The other man looked upset, eyes sparkling with tears, and a grim look on his face. He sat on the edge with his legs crossed, fingers submerged in the water.
“What was all that about?” Forty looked up at Joe, placing his elbow on the sand and leaning his head on his hand.
“Love’s just mad I won’t come home. I tried to get her to leave the pod, but I don’t think she ever will. Our parents are there, and her friends… I don’t know, I just thought she’d leave for me.”
“Love is your sister?” Forty shook his head.
“Yeah, she's my twin. Twins are rare. Usually, one of us gets eaten.”
“Eaten?”
“Uh yeah… it was almost me. We were safe for a while, since our parents are the pod leaders. But our babysitter tried when I was about 13. Thankfully Love managed to kill her first.” Forty’s shoulders fell. “One day Love had gone to a friend’s, it was just me and her, Sofia. Sofia started singing, and it was like I was locked inside my body. And she did stuff… and she made me do… stuff.” Forty sighed and looked at Joe for a second before looking away again. He twiddled with his hands. “Love came back right as Sofia was about to… Everyone has looked at me differently since then. Like I was weak and breakable, fragile. Love barely let me out of her sight for the next couple of years.” His eyes shifted away from Joe. He crossed his arms over his chest.
“Love only stopped after she started hanging around with this human. His name was James. The pod has rules about interacting with humans, especially mating and falling in love with one. Love broke that rule and she paid for it. They killed James, sang him off his ship and he drowned…”
“Jesus Forty, why didn’t you leave earlier?”
“They’re my family. Besides… what good is a siren that won’t sing?”