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“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Scott was eyeballing the murky waters just off of Codland’s docks as if it had personally offended them.
Due to Rivendell’s lack of swimmable water, Scott had never gone swimming before. Rivendell didn’t even sell swimwear, so Scott was wearing some from the Codlands. Jimmy wouldn’t admit it so openly (he would, depending on who was around), but he did find great pleasure in seeing Scott in clothing more typical of Codland… and in significantly fewer layers than normal.
Scott’s swimming shorts and shirt showed off some of his pale white skin that Jimmy usually only saw when they were alone, though Jimmy noticed that Scott’s skin was starting to flush pinker from the sun’s contact and the warm humidity frequently occurring in the swampy territory. The swim shirt was designed to help them not burn under it, but Jimmy had slathered them with sunscreen anyway and would keep an eye on the sun’s position in the sky so, if all went well, they wouldn’t burn.
“Of course it is!” Jimmy declared confidently, flashing his husband a wide grin and swishing his tail. Scott was willing to learn to swim and Jimmy was determined to teach him! “Seeing how often you visit, it’ll be good for you to at least know the basics. Besides, you’ll be fine with me here. I’m a really great swimmer.”
Swimming was one of Jimmy’s favorite things so, naturally, he was very enthused about it. His tail-swishing allowed him to get some of his happy energy out without people thinking he was too strange. Scott didn’t mind his excited hand flaps or jumps, claiming to actually like them and find them cute, but they were in public! Some people already saw him as unfit and they cursed the Cod Council for choosing him to be their Codfather. Fortunately, that wasn’t everyone, but the angry people tended to be the loudest.
Jimmy has always felt socially awkward and out of place, and, ever since he became the Codfather, he’s felt even more social pressure. Learning all the rules took time, but he’s got it down! Or, at least, he thinks he does. He could never be sure; it was all a mess.
This wasn’t to say he wasn’t social, because he was! Jimmy loved talking to people and engaging in everything the world had to offer. It was just difficult for him to understand why some people acted like he grew an extra tail out of his ear when he was simply existing as he was in a space.
Scott stared at Jimmy for several moments before allowing his muscles to relax. “Okay, Jimmy. I trust you.”
Jimmy felt his face light up as he took Scott’s hand and led them closer to the water. Scott’s grip on his hand was tight as it often was when Scott was anxious, but Jimmy would take care of him. “Do you want to jump off together or go in after me?”
Scott contemplated for a moment before choosing, “Together.”
“Okay, you took the water-breathing potion, right?” Jimmy asked to make sure instead of assuming. He figured it would help calm Scott’s anxieties and make them safer to have it for the first eight or so minutes of their swimming lesson. Jimmy had gills as a feature of his cod ancestors, so he didn’t have to worry about it.
“I did,” Scott confirmed, not taking his gaze off of the watery depths.
“Perfect. We’ll jump on ‘jump’, okay? Three, two, one, jump!” As Jimmy instructed, they both jumped off of the dock in sync, earning mild air time before plummeting into the water.
Scott’s hand was still holding Jimmy’s tightly, but it had grown more suffocating. The pressure was actually starting to hurt, but Jimmy didn’t dare tell Scott that. He didn’t want them to overthink this more than they already were. Besides, he’s felt more pain than this before. He just clicked his tongue in a pattern to take his mind off of it and it worked well.
“You can breathe, Scott.” Jimmy kept his tone as soft and gentle as possible without sounding like he was babying them. Scott’s face briefly conveyed distrust, but it soon gave way to acceptance as his mouth gaped open to take a deep breath. “The potion will still be in effect, but it’s good that you know how to hold it for when you swim without a potion. We’ll work on treading first so you can keep your head above water if you ever get stuck.”
From there, the swimming lessons went better than he had expected. Sure, Scott was nervous, but Jimmy gave him some slack. Rivendell wasn’t exactly known for swimming, after all!
Jimmy taught Scott several swimming techniques, some Jimmy knew from experience and some he had to research beforehand. He had done the research many times, but he made sure to refresh himself on the basics. Elves didn’t have tails or gills so, without a breathing potion, they couldn’t move as fast and had to stay near the surface. Those two things required an altercation in what an oceanfolk would learn.
The longer they went on, the more distracted and out of it Scott seemed. It wasn’t too noticeable, for Scott was well versed in hiding things such as that, but Jimmy was picking up on hints. Or, he thought he was. He wasn’t sure since nonverbal cues had always been difficult for him to interpret. Jimmy would need hundreds of fingers to count how many times he’s stared at Scott simply to observe them and their actions. The fact that Jimmy found Scott very handsome was simply an added bonus.
Still, Scott insisted that he was fine and that he wanted to do this for him when Jimmy offered him a break, so they continued on. Jimmy was easily convinced to continue because, selfishly, he didn’t want to leave the water yet. It felt wonderful against his skin and the temperature was just right. He loved his time above the waves or up in the mountains with Scott (mostly because Scott was there), but the water would always feel like home, it would always feel safe.
Scott’s movements grew more and more stiff, and he appeared increasingly more fatigued. He couldn’t conceal the true nature of his pain any longer so Jimmy insisted, “Let’s head back to shore.”
“Okay,” Scott agreed with somewhat squinted eyes. He turned his sights onto the distance… in the completely wrong direction. Scott was facing east, which would eventually run into The Ocean Empire or Mezalea if they kept swimming.
“Scott, Codland is that way,” Jimmy corrected, pointing west. Concern continued to bite at him, but Jimmy was more than confident in his own swimming abilities. He’s been doing it for as long as he could remember, afterall! He would keep Scott safe.
He rested a hand on Scott’s shoulder and they flinched away at the touch, reacting as if Jimmy had smacked them. Jimmy furrowed his eyebrows. Scott was usually quite open to touch by loved ones, but sometimes he responded in touch-adverse ways. Jimmy didn’t fully understand it and it was hard to accept it. How was he supposed to determine when it was okay to touch him and when it wasn’t?
Before Jimmy could say anything, Scott turned himself around and began to swim west toward the docks.
Now Jimmy wasn’t too proud to admit this, but Scott was so slow (most non-oceanfolk were) and Jimmy was getting antsy. Trusting Scott to be able to employ the skills he taught them, Jimmy started swimming in wide laps and loops around the general area Scott was in. It became a game of sorts in his brain, easily entertaining himself as he often did. Jimmy couldn’t tell anyone how long he spent doing that with any sort of accuracy, but it was likely too long.
A shiver ran down Jimmy’s spine as the water grew colder. The sudden temperature change snapped him out of his fixation on his imaginary game that only he understood. Jimmy had tried to teach Lizzie it before, but she couldn’t make sense of it. The unexpected cold felt like it was pricking his skin; he hadn’t realized he needed to mentally prepare himself for it.
Scott! Jimmy’s eyes widened in recognition a moment later, putting the pieces together on what probably happened. He had gotten too distracted! Jimmy balled his hand into a fist and hit his head with the bottom of his palm several times. Stupid, stupid, stupid!
Pushing away the pity party, he swam back to where Scott should be. There were several chunks of ice floating around and a rather large slab of it on the surface. There wasn’t much of a pattern to it that Jimmy could figure out, but he didn’t focus on it long, so he might have missed it.
Jimmy found Scott in no time, and their eyes were redder and puffier than usual. He was curled in on himself, his body shaking like it did when his anxiety became too much for him to control. The breathing potion would have run out a long time ago by now, so Jimmy knew he didn’t have much time.
He rushed forward, quickly stealing Scott’s lips in a kiss. Scott’s body reacted in a jolt, but he didn’t push away as Jimmy used his gills and mouth to transfer breathable air to Scott’s lungs. Scott’s fingers gripped Jimmy’s shoulders, but their hold on him was weaker than their previous strength.
Once Jimmy couldn’t handle the unprepared for cold any longer, and he gave Scott enough air for them to not drown, he held Scott close and pulled them away from the ice-filled water. Scott seemed to have stopped creating as much ice out of his panic, so Jimmy was able to outswim the cold patch in the otherwise warm water.
As soon as the ice blocks were no longer trapping them underwater, Jimmy swam him and Scott to the surface so Scott could breathe properly. Scott gasped for air as soon as he could, his chest heaving with the effort. Jimmy kept them upright so Scott wouldn’t have to do anything but focus on breathing.
“Sorry,” Scott croaked after several minutes, squeezing their eyes shut and resting their forehead against Jimmy’s shoulder.
“What happened?” Jimmy asked, holding one arm around Scott’s waist while the other played with their wet blue hair.
Scott didn’t answer for several heartbeats before weakly mummering, “It was… I just… My body stopped moving on command, and my limbs are all tingly and numb, and my brain feels foggy. It's just… my body feels extremely weak, it hurts to think, and I panicked, creating uncontrolled ice clumps. I’m sorry.”
“Shh, don’t apologize,” Jimmy ordered gently, but they’ve had that conversation many times before. He didn’t like when Scott would apologize for things that they had no control over, but Scott continued to do so anyway. It was like he couldn’t control it (perhaps a compulsion or trauma response?), but Jimmy chose not to linger on it. “Let’s just get you to land and I’ll carry you to my place, okay, love?”
Scott made a sort of noncommittal hum or grunt in response, letting his eyes flutter close as Jimmy kept one arm around Scott and used the other arm to help him cut through the water. Even with the added weight of Scott, Jimmy moved swiftly and speedily; they arrived at Codland’s docks in no time.
Jimmy did as he told Scott he would and carried him close to his chest. Swimming kept his muscles fairly active so, while he didn’t always look like it, he was rather strong. Scott was tall, as elves often were, but Jimmy could manage his weight without problem. After all, even without his expertise in swimming, he has had plenty of practice carrying people and things over the last several years.
Codlanders were used to water and mud, so no one batted an eye when they didn’t dry off before using the wooden paths to get from place to place. If they were outdoors, it was fair game. If going inside one’s house, it was customary to use the towel provided to dry oneself off if needed, but they didn’t have to worry about that. Jimmy had plenty of towels to use when they got to the building Jimmy called home.
“Do you think you can stand, petal?” Jimmy asked once they entered the home, his eyes moving around to observe what was around and see if anything would spark ideas to help Scott.
Scott considered his pain and options for a moment before nodding. “Just let me down near a wall or a sturdy piece of furniture.”
Jimmy did as he was instructed, keeping his hands on Scott until he was convinced Scott’s legs could hold his body up. When they could, Jimmy retrieved a few towels for himself and for Scott to dry off. Scott used the wall to help keep themself up, but otherwise managed well enough to get themself as dry as they could. Once dry, Jimmy helped Scott change back into his previous clothing before going to change himself.
“Are you feeling any better?” Jimmy flicked his tail, and twisted his right wrist back and forth anxiously as he stared at his husband.
Scott’s eyes were half-lidded, staring off at nothing, and his body was sitting limp. He breathed out, “It’s too bright in here.”
Jimmy could understand that feeling since he also felt overwhelmed by light sometimes. He quickly darkened the room in every way he could think of before asking, “Is this better?”
“Yes,” Scott confirmed with a barely noticeable twitch of his lips into (assumingly) a smile. “Thank you, Jimmy.”
“Of course,” Jimmy returned the smile, but his was wider and more infused with fondness. He pressed a kiss against Scott’s forehead, careful to not put much pressure into it, before laying a blanket over their body. “Thank you for going swimming with me. It made me really happy, even if it didn’t end very well.”
“It was worth it,” Scott opened his icy blue eyes to blink lovingly at Jimmy. They patted the spot next to them with a slight tilt of their head. “Will you sit with me?”
“Of course.” Jimmy didn’t waste time moving to their side. He wrapped his arm around Scott, who promptly leaned in against his chest. Jimmy brushed Scott’s bangs out of his eyes before peppering kisses along his hairline and around his face.
Scott laughed weakly at the kisses, glancing up at Jimmy through his eyelashes. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” Jimmy returned the sentiment honestly before returning to the kisses. After Jimmy stopped, and the place fell into a peaceful silence, Jimmy blurted out, “Do you hate swimming now?”
“No,” Scott answered nearly instantly. He peered up at Jimmy again, reaching up to cup his cheek. “Jimmy, I could never hate what you love with so much light shining through you. Besides, it was fun, until my body started to shut down on me.”
Jimmy felt warmth swell in his chest as he leaned into Scott’s touch, relieved that Scott was alright and happy that, until the end, the swimming lessons went well. Still, he was concerned. Jimmy hadn’t completely forgotten about the symptoms of some mystery illness Scott had been suffering for the majority of his life, but it was such a normal thing to feel for them (and something Scott always tried to hide when it flared up or got worse) that Jimmy would forget to check in sometimes. He felt bad about it, but it was hard to remember things when he got distracted by something he enjoyed doing. “What did the doctor say? Did they figure out what it was? Does anything help?”
Scott sighed heavily, letting his eyelids flutter close as he dropped his hand. “They don’t know and nothing really helps. It’s just what I have to live with.”
“We’ll find something to help,” Jimmy promised, even though he couldn’t exactly do that. He was going to try, though!
“You being here is more than enough.” Scott laced their fingers together before bringing the back of Jimmy’s hand up to his lips. “Will you ramble to me while I rest my eyes?”
Jimmy tried his best not to jump up with excitement at the open invitation. One thing he loved about Scott was his listening skills. Jimmy was used to rambling even though no one paid attention (he’s done it his whole childhood), but the thing about rambling to Scott was that he actually paid attention and remembered information Jimmy told him! It wasn’t perfect, but Scott would ask questions about things Jimmy liked too if he had any!
His grin was as wide as it could be, his sharp teeth on full display as he started blabbing about the recent changes he’s made as Codland’s emperor and how well they’ve been going so far.
It was moments like this that Jimmy knew he loved his life. There were hardships, sure, there always were, but cuddling with Scott during a peaceful afternoon as they talked about whatever they felt like was perfect. Jimmy wouldn’t trade Scott nor moments like this for the world.