Work Text:
Apollo Justice was about to drown.
One careless slip, and water had completely engulfed his body. His clothes were instantly drenched, the weight dragging him further down the blue abyss. Panic and the clear, stinging liquid muffled his senses, suppressing the sound of his limbs desperately splashing against the water surface.
Anguish beset his mind, silencing most of the coherent thoughts. Oh god, I’m going to die! and Why did I do this? were among those still distinguishable from the background radiation of pure terror. And, oddly, Ironic as well.
Ironic. Water — the cornerstone of existence, indispensable for every being on Earth — was once again about to overwhelm him and extinguish the flame of his life.
He didn’t care that it wasn’t actually ironic by definition.
He instead cursed his uncanny skill in getting himself in situations like this over and over again. During his childhood years in Khura’in, Apollo and his adopted brother had reeled right into a raging, rapid-filled river. And about a year ago, he got trapped in an underwater cave during a tide, swiftly being penned in under the relentless, remorseless rising of the water level.
Coincidentally, in both of these past events salvation came by the same person’s hand — his foster father Dhurke arrived to the rescue at the last moment.
After the first misadventure, Apollo had asked him what would have happened if Dhurke hadn’t saved them in time. His guardian seemed to find it funny to give him a scare, changing his tone to grim determination as he told of death as a bone white haze, taking the lost and the unloved babes. If he had been late… too late, that is, Apollo would’ve been taken to the Twilight Realm.
He couldn’t sleep well that night.
And since Dhurke now resided in the Twilight Realm himself, Apollo figured that there would be no saviour this time and all he could do was to await their reunion. Lost and unloved indeed — a son estranged from mother’s love for so long, fathers taken away by wretches too soon…
He wildly flailed his arms around and thrashed his legs downwards in desperate attempts to generate any kind of lift, rapidly draining him of all his remaining energy, but all that accomplished was setting the water flying around him.
The rumours were true — before death, a person's whole life really did flash before their eyes. Apollo could pick out the most vivid moments from the blur of recollections — aforementioned drowning incidents, his arrival at the States after Dhurke had sent him away, imprisoning Mr Gavin and bringing light to his every crime, Clay’s murder and that trial, the fight against the tyrant Gar’an in the courtroom, Athena’s love confession over the video call…
“Apollo.”
Just then, a single, muffled word seemed to make a splash right next to him.
Athena? Athena! Just like the mythological, infinitely wise Greek goddess, she had heard her name in his silent pleas and arrived to his aid! She had finally come to her senses and was about to rescue him! At that moment, her voice had never sounded so beautiful, so melodic, so vivid and…
… lethargically displeased?
An overwhelmingly heavy sigh enhanced that notion, followed by someone grabbing his forearm and pulling.
“Apollo … the pool’s only chest-high. Just stand up!”
Oh.
With a grunt of exertion, Athena steadied him on his feet.
He still kept his eyes closed. Better safe than sorry. What if it all was a trick? What if a pack of sirens mimicked Athena, ready to make the footing disappear again and plunging him deeper into the abyss as soon as he opened them?
“I — I just slipped in when I walked next to it, that’s all!” he blurted out.
“I saw that, but did you really have to be such a drama queen about it, Apollo?”
Could synaesthesia apply to facial expressions? Because right now, Apollo swore that he heard that exasperated grimace in her voice.
“I was not!” Apollo’s pride didn’t let him surrender, even if he knew damn well she was right, and embarrassment lit his mind up, silently roasting it with a red hot flame.
“Oh, yes, I’m sure the screaming was just for show. Open your eyes already, you dummy!”
Apollo finally dared to do so. No sirens here, good. They, indeed, were still at the swimming hall they had arrived at earlier today. A couple of visitors and the pool guards were shooting concerned looks at the pair — no doubt worried about Apollo’s howling — a couple of children were pointing at him, and, of course, Athena stood next to him, dressed in her new, stunning, yellow one-piece swimwear, which, he had to admit, looked snug in all the right places. If Apollo wasn’t scared out of his wits, he might have found the right compliment for her figure.
Alas, he was.
“Alright, fine, maybe I’m still a little bit scared… Can we leave now, before I embarrass myself again?” he whined, already eyeing the exit door behind his back.
The crimson tone of ignominy and warmth now overwhelmed his cheeks. Athena chose to ignore that fact, looking upon Apollo with severe dismay in her eyes.
“C’mon, Apollo, you need to learn how to swim! We…” she pleaded as she again grabbed his wrist.
“Is this really necessary? Athena, I…” he interrupted her, turning back again to meet her eye to eye.
Whatever pitiful argument he had prepared fizzled out before leaving his mouth as he noticed that tears had swelled up in her brilliant blue eyes, a frown had pulled her face taut with worry and her grip had turned shaky and desperate around his arm.
“Apollo, please! I had no idea you couldn’t swim. When the boss told me that you had almost died in that cave…” A tense breath interrupted her speech, sending her upper lip a-quiver. Grisly images of the worst case scenario appeared in her head, which she had to shake off before continuing.
”What if it happens again? What if you … I don’t wanna even imagine it! Swimming’s such a simple, but essential skill. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself knowing I just stood idly by! Please, let me help you! It’s for your own sake!”
Embarrassment finally dispersed from his thoughts, leaving naught but concern for Athena. Hearing about that incident in the cave must have really shaken her. Ever the empathetic soul, she once again wanted to selflessly help someone dear to her. This was no time to be stubborn.
He was scared, sure. But Athena was by his side now. He decided to constantly remind himself that she was here. His time in Khura’in had proven the usefulness of mantras.
Ever since that trial, he knew he could fully trust Athena. Their faith in each other was strained to near breaking point that day, and it persevered, becoming stronger than ever. Now, he was sure she wouldn’t let him drown. Never.
“Okay, okay, you’re right. Well,” he interrupted himself to sigh, “I suppose I made it this far, right? Might as well go through with your plan… Just one thing. Are you sure I shouldn’t seek an actual swimming coach?”
Apollo’s commitment had dried her eyes, but now she shot him an annoyed glare.
“I’m like a fish in the water, Apollo! Why waste money when you have a pro like me teaching you?”
“You’re a good teacher? Really? What have you taught before?” He couldn’t help but to raise an eyebrow at her claim.
“Well… nothing… but how hard could it be? I even did some extra research on the topic!”
“Did that ‘extra research’ consist of 10 minutes of browsing Google ?”
She punched him in the shoulder.
“No, dummy, actual research, with books and… stuff! Now shush , c’mon! Let’s start it simple by just learning to float…”
If someone had told Apollo that Athena had enough patience for an hour or two of swimming lessons yesterday, he would’ve called their judgement of character extremely poor. And yet, she had a complete, well planned programme set up for him, and she executed it meticulously, making sure his skill had reliably escalated on each step before moving on. By the end of the session, Apollo had frantically swam from the edge of the pool a couple of metres right into Athena’s open arms. It took all of her willpower to not share any comments comparing him to a wet puppy.
“There you go, darling! See, I told you — you can do it!” she chirped as Apollo pushed himself in her open arms, then wrapped them around him and gave him a quick peck on his prominent forehead.
“I… I guess so. H— how about we call it off for today, though?” His exhaustion and stress made themselves known clearly in his laboured breath.
“Sure! I just wanna take a dip in the big pool while we’re here — gimme a minute!” she trilled as they turned to wade through the water to the edge and climbed out. Well, Athena waded. Apollo’s movements were something more akin to “scurrying out in panic.”
Apollo almost felt like kissing the dry land as soon as he got out. The relief was immense. He then sat down on a nearby bench, took a calming breath, and cast a slow gaze at his surroundings.
This indoor swimming hall lived up to the eager recommendation of Ema as a reputable, well-maintained location. Its polished blue and white tiled halls offered nautical activities of all shapes and sizes, from kiddie pools to long course pools, with trained staff roaming between them, keeping a watchful eye over the patrons and enforcing the strict, but vital safety rules. These guards didn’t have to fret much today — there were a dozen visitors at best, including both of the lawyers, so Apollo could take comfort in the fact that not many people saw his shameful faux-pas.
As for Athena, she quickly strode over to the side of the lap pool and called out to Apollo before diving in, then blazed forward in an effortless freestyle.
He rolled his eyes at her oh-so idiosyncratic antics.
It took her no time to finish the lap. She then dove in, disappearing under the blue surface for a second and then broke it with an overtly grand and dramatic whip of her hair, sending water droplets flying everywhere and disturbing a nearby couple. She rattled off a quick apology as she got out and walked over to the bench. Apollo’s exasperation was completely overridden by awe as he took in her visage — the water dripping from her toned figure, sculpted perfectly by her training routine, as well as her long, cascading auburn hair, and all of her shapely curves … and wow, did this place get a lot warmer just now?
“You know, Athena,” Apollo spoke up as she sat down by his side and grabbed a towel, “seeing you in action, I’m wondering if I might have fallen in love with a former mermaid…”
Athena giggled, wrapping her arm around his shoulders and pulling him in closer.
“Oh, have you now? Then come here, Prince Eric!” she said, as she leaned in and gave Apollo a warm, damp kiss. In the past, such a sudden, bold action would startle him, but now, he just smiled against her lips as he returned her embrace.
They left the centre hand-in-hand. Their next visit was scheduled the following Friday.
This might be the first time I will be looking forward to getting wet... Apollo allowed himself a bit of silent self-deprecation.
And it was all because now Athena would be by his side — as long as their hearts beat in the frequency of love for each other, he felt like he could brave anything life threw at him, and peace of mind all around would be his fortune.
Even if that obstacle was something as utterly terrifying as swimming. Heeeeeelp…