Beyond The Sea [Hankcon / Hank x Connor AU]

trēdecim; unsung [ultimo]

[A/N: "ultimo" is Latin for "finale", as this is the final chapter.]

The last few months that had passed in what seemed, in retrospect, like seconds... Had been the best of his life. He had never been this happy before, and never before, in a human society. He hadn't been back to sea much; his life on land was too precious, too... amazing, to hide away from. He loved it, and he loved who he was associated with.

He had, however, been given a night off from his busy work life; Sal was in too good a mood for some bizarre reason, but he wasn't going to complain. He took it to his advantage and spent it nightswimming. 

On his own, though.

His partner, as he'd known him as for a while now, had been working different hours, so they didn't spend as much time together, but he loved him all the same.

He emerged back on land just after sunset, and was greeted -- oddly -- by his father at the front door. "---Are you not supposed to be working tonight?" His voice was strangely rushed.

"Well, yes. But, I have been given tonight off. Sal is in a good mood, or maybe he just didn't want me there..." He pondered his own thinking, but knew by his Dad's reaction, there wasn't time for that. 

"I think you need to come in here." 

He followed him through into the house, and into the kitchen. He wondered what on earth was going on, but soon realised. It was unavoidable, now.

"Good evening, Connor."

Her voice was foreign to his ears, he hadn't heard her, or seen her, in a very long time. He'd almost forgotten her face, her expressions; but he recognised that one. 

Disappointment.

"---Mother. What---What are you..." He couldn't get a coherent sentence together. Grasping onto the counter to keep himself together, he couldn't take his eyes off her. Why was she on land?

"I think we both know why I am here." Vanora responded eventually, her voice cold and unforgiving. "I return to our cove, with your sisters... And witness you with a stranger? In our territory?" She snapped, taking him aback.

Connor stared at her, his eyes wide in almost horror. He looked to Elijah, who just shook his head. He couldn't help him now.

"Mother---I can explain, please." He tried to plead with her, but knew there was no point wasting energy in it. "I cannot believe you have done this yourself. I banished you from the pod for this exact reason, and now you are entertaining that fact. Is this a joke to you, Connor? Is the idea of risking our entire existence a funny concept? After how I raised you to be a careful, clever young man?" Vanora scolded him, but the words just faded into white noise as Connor stared at her, disassociating from the lecture. 

He needed to get out of here.

For good.

_________________

"---Surely an espresso at 11pm isn't a good idea, Waters," Hank glanced over to his partner, being sat at his desk and definitely "working on that case".

"Eh, we're here long enough. Might as well get the energy boosted." Oliver spoke after putting his cup down, most likely having just downed the entire thing. Hank stared at him, unable not to laugh. "You're gonna be one jittery motherfucker." He replied, looking at the files they were "working on".

He had mentioned to Oliver that the "missing surfer" was just a ruse, but when questioned... had lied. He wasn't going to give up that part of his life. Not for anyone. It was too precious.

"---Officer Anderson?"

He zoned back in when he heard his name, noticing a blonde woman standing over him, a smile on her face. "---Oh, yeah? What's up? Uh... Nancy?" He noticed her nametag, and her faint chuckle. "I'm here from the front desk. Someone is downstairs to see you." She explained, and Hank raised an eyebrow. "Any other details?" He questioned curiously, a smile on his own face.

"Someone by the name... Kamski?"

He usually left his office quite face, especially on a Friday, but never this fast. He knew "Kamski" as Connor's father, but what the hell would he be doing in police precinct?

"He's in the waiting room," Nancy had informed him before she left for her own desk, and he went to find him, but was... pleasantly shocked.

"Connor? What are you doing here?" He approached him, instantly noticing his expression.

He just hugged him close, letting him cry into his uniform. He mumbled something incomprehensively, but soon stepped back. "---I'm sorry to bother you at work, and I know it's late, but I'm so scared and angry, Hank! I had to see you!" He cried, looking helpless. Hank just looked down at him, not knowing how to react. "Come with me," He took his hand, leading him to a quieter space.

"---Why are you all upset?" He shut the door, joining him at the table. He'd found a vacant meeting room. It was late, after all. "---My mother, is on land. She has spoken with my father, and... She knows. She knows about you, and I wouldn't be surprised if she knew who you were, as in your actual identity. She thinks I'm threatening the pod; our existence, and she wants me---" He frowned as Connor started to cry again.

"Crying wasn't a problem under water." He mumbled, managing a faint laugh. "Connor, hey... Please don't cry. I'm sure you're just overreacting." Hank took his hand in his own, but was just looked at. "I'm not, Hank! She's stir crazy about it. I explained I didn't think it would matter as she banished me, and she mentioned how I was still her son, and I still had ties to the sea... She says I'm going to ruin everything. She isn't going to leave me alone, now. She knows where I am here on land, and I can't escape to sea as she is there too. I don't know what to do!" Connor yelled in the moment, his eyes widening again.

"It's alright." Hank assured him quickly, noting his reaction. "Look... What do you really wanna do? Like, if you could do anything to resolve this issue... What would you do?" He asked, looking at him with a faint smile.

He watched Connor as he thought about his answer, knowing he was genuinely thinking about it, and not pretending to. He had a brilliant mind. "---If I could, I would leave. Permanently. Not as in, well... dying, but... I would move away somewhere far from here. Somewhere where she would never find me," Connor answered eventually, sniffing occasionally from the crying.

Hank nodded a little as he looked at him. He checked his watch for the time, but soon caught his glance again.

"Then let's get outta here."