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For a moment, Danny considered the irony of it all. This was how he was going to die. After all these years on the force, getting shot at, almost blown up and beaten up, he was going to drown after all. Danny would have loved to tell Steve ‘told you so’, but not even that was possible right now – Steve was already gone. They’d thrown him in first, hands and ankles taped together, a rusty old chain wrapped around his upper body, diving weights around his hips. Not that it would have mattered much after they had beat him unconscious.
Danny waited for the panic to take over his mind, but instead all he felt was calm and cold. Detached. Steve was gone and in a moment, Danny would die, too. They’d throw him into the ocean, wrapped up like a Christmas present, and he’d drown. Danny wasn’t even sure their bodies would be found any time soon – if ever.
Hands were grabbing for him, hauling him up roughly, and Danny’s head swam, eyes becoming unfocused. He had a concussion for sure. Not that it mattered. He’d be dead soon. Someone yanked at his taped up wrists painfully and almost dislocated his shoulder in the process and the next second, Danny was falling.
The impact of his body on the water knocked the air out of his lungs and left him reeling, and his desperate attempt to get some air resulted in him swallowing water. The last thing Danny saw before the weights pulled him under was the boat speeding away.
All sounds became muted as soon as Danny was completely immersed in water, and his lungs burned. He wanted to draw breath desperately but knew he would drown even faster if he did. Panic finally breached the bubble of shock he’d been in, making his heart race. He thought of Grace and Charlie, and how they would have to grow up without a father.
It was his biggest regret – that and the fact that he had waited so long to make a move on Steve, to actually date him. They’d only been going out for about a month, officially, even though the team claimed they had been dating practically forever without noticing.
Danny tried to ignore the burning of his lungs as he sank deeper and deeper, his vision going blurry. He knew any moment now he would draw breath, knew he couldn’t fight it much longer.
Sudden movement to his immediate right caught Danny’s attention. It was Steve. He was very much alive and conscious, ripping the chain around his chest apart with his bare hands, his ankles and hands already freed from the tape that had held them.
It had to be a hallucination caused by the lack of oxygen.
Danny was about to give into the unbearable urge to breathe when suddenly Steve’s hands were on his chest, pulling away the chain as if it were made of paper, the diving weights following only seconds later. He grabbed Danny around the waist and pulled him into the direction of the surface – at least Danny thought it might be, since he was completely disoriented.
But while Danny was pressed firmly against Steve’s chest he felt one thing for certain – Steve breathed. Steve breathed deep, even breaths, completely unhindered by the fact that they were several feet under water.
Another thing Danny noticed was that Steve was swimming pretty damn fast. It was a good thing too, because by the time Danny’s head was above water his vision was so hazy he might as well be blind and the pain in his chest was unbearable. The first draw of breath after almost drowning felt heavenly, and in that very moment Danny was just grateful to be alive. He took a couple more deep breaths and tried to get his bearings after the rush of adrenalin at almost dying. In that moment Danny was almost tempted to let it all slide, to not say anything besides a ‘thanks for saving my ass’, but this was just too important, too huge to not talk about.
“Come on, I’ll get you to the shore,” Steve said quietly, and Danny looked at him incredulously. They were in the middle of the fucking ocean and no boat in sight. How were they supposed to get to shore?
Steve seemed to have read Danny’s mind because he made a face and elaborated, “I’m stronger and faster when I’m in water. Just trust me.”
Stunned, Danny didn’t protest when Steve took him in a rescue hold and started to swim way faster than Danny had ever seen any human being swim. But then again, maybe Steve wasn’t exactly human? Regular humans couldn’t breathe under water.
“You’re quiet. That’s never good,” Steve said after a while. He wasn’t even slightly out of breath.
“I’m trying to wrap my head around the fact that I’ve apparently been dating Aquaman and didn’t know it.” Danny snapped, trying to ignore the water that splashed into his face and got into his mouth from the speed they were moving at. “How did I not know this about you, after seven fucking years? After we started dating, Steven?” Danny was more angry than hurt. It would have set his mind at ease quite a few times if he’d known Steve couldn’t actually drown.
“It just never came up,” Steve said and he sounded defensive and guilty. Or maybe scared, Danny couldn’t quite tell. He’d rarely seen Steve scared of anything.
“It never came up? It never came up he says!” Danny would have thrown his hands up in the air if he could have, but Steve’s grip prevented a lot of movement. “Of course it never came up because you chose to not tell me about it. Do you know how much worry you could have spared me if you had just told me that you can’t exactly drown? Huh? I could have lived with knowing you’re actually part fish or something if it meant I didn’t have to worry about you so much all the fucking time.”
Steve stayed silent.
“Are you part fish? What are you, exactly?” Danny just had to ask.
“I’m human, Danny. I was born this way. My best guess is I’m some sort of … evolution? I didn’t quite stick around to let anyone dissect me to see how it works.” Something in Steve’s tone said he’d actually come close to that.
Something occurred to Danny. “So, when those nutjobs waterboarded you-” If Steve could breathe under water, if it made him stronger then maybe-
“They did me a favor, yeah. Helped me escape, actually,” Steve admitted. His head ducked under water again as he swam, only he didn’t come up for air for several minutes. His way of hiding from more conversation, probably.
“Would you ever have told me?” Danny asked once Steve resurfaced. He thought he knew the answer already and the thought that Steve hadn’t trusted him enough after all these years, hadn’t trusted him enough to share his secret after they had started dating, was burning like acid in his chest.
“I almost did, a couple of times. Came really close once or twice. But I didn’t want to put you and your family in any more danger than you already are. I know it sounds like an excuse but it’s the truth. Not knowing was safer for you.” Steve stopped swimming and grabbed Danny around the waist instead, treading water.
Danny looked at him, surprised by both his words and the sudden lack of movement. Steve’s eyes were a startling, bright turquoise and not his usual deep blue, and the droplets of water that clung to his long dark lashes seemed to intensify the strange eye color even more.
“I would have liked to make that decision for myself, thank you very much,” Danny said without real bite. He was too distracted by Steve’s eyes. How had he never noticed that they changed color that drastically?
“They only change when I’ve been breathing under water. My vision changes to help me see better in the different lighting. Goes back to normal rather quickly once I’m above water. You wouldn’t have had a chance to witness it, not when I’ve been swimming normally when you’re around,” Steve said, and for a second Danny was scared that mindreading came with the whole breathing under water thing.
“How did you-?”
“You were staring.” Steve sighed. “Listen, Danny, I know it wasn’t exactly ideal, the way you found out. But I didn’t keep it from you to hurt you. You gotta believe that. I wanted to protect you. And I didn’t wanna lose you either. I wasn’t sure how you’d react to finding out I’m … how did you put it? Part fish.”
“I thought you said you’re human,” Danny snapped. He didn’t like the idea that Steve had doubted him and his loyalty – or love – as it was. But he understood what it was like to hide a huge secret from everyone around you and how hard it was to let go and trust people with it.
Steve rolled his eyes at Danny. “I am human, Danny. I was just trying to make a point. Now, I’m gonna get us to the shore, we’re not that far out any more. Are we good? Or should I come get my stuff from your house and give you some time to wrap your head around the whole thing? I’d understand you if you need time to reconsider … being with me? Working with me?” There was insecurity in Steve’s voice even though the look on his face, now that his eyes were just regular blue again, was carefully neutral.
“Don’t be an idiot, Steve. Just because it turns out you’re literally some sort of Super-SEAL doesn’t mean I’m gonna abandon you. I love you. I’ve stuck with you and your shit for years now. You hijacked my car, got me shot, almost got me killed, and I’ve followed you to the ends of the earth. You think I’m giving up on you now? You’re delusional. Now get me out of the water; I’m looking like a prune.”
Steve smiled at him. “I love you too, you know?” He slowly leaned in for a kiss, as if he was unsure the gesture would be welcome. His lips were warm, as warm as the rest of his body, which served as just another reminder of how different their physique actually was and that being exposed to water for a longer period of time didn’t bother Steve at all.
Unlike Danny. He rolled his eyes at Steve fondly and huffed. “Yes, of course I know. Now, less talking, more swimming. I’m not getting any younger here. We can have the rest of this conversation at home. In bed.” Danny let himself be manhandled into position again and Steve took off towards the shoreline.
They would clearly need to continue that conversation, but for now Danny was just glad to be alive. And if Steve had turned out to be a real life superhero, then that was something Danny could probably live with just fine.