Chapter Text
Simon really didn't want to be here. At all. He should have known this was going to go south real quick with how shitty the sub was. Find the blackbox, they said. It'll be easy, they said. Fucking. Lying. Rats.
Well, now the damn sub was leaking. And he was trying to find where that was coming from, when another leak started. This was a problem. Alarms began to blare all around. Well, fuck.
Simon yelped as the damn window gave out, and water came rushing in! He scrambled to find something to trap air in, but the water was coming in way too fast. He had no chance. The water came in hard and fast. Simon struggled to get to the window. He knew he had to get out. Taking one last breath of air, he squeezed past the window.
And boy, was he super fucked. He was too far down to get to the surface in time. Then, as if he wasn't screwed enough… Something big was approaching. He blinked once. Twice. It was even closer. It was a massive, massive sea creature. Top half looked strongly human, save for mobile finned ears and gills along the neck. Blond hair drifted in the current as it circled him, blue eyes boring into him. The skin was blue-gray with a gold underbelly with yellow striping. A great whale's tail, and two long flippers at its waist. It looked to be around 80 feet, from head to tail, it was BIG.
It suddenly turned its head to face him, and terror took hold as its mouth opened wide, and it came at him. Simon deflected himself away, pushing off it as it passed. The convict started trying to swim up, only to see the creature coming back. Again he deflected it, growing panicked. He was running out of time! The beast came back yet again, but this time, it was more persistent. Simon tried to deflect, but the side of its nose pushed into him. Keeping him close.
He tried to push off the creature's face, but it just kept following him. Trying to get him in its mouth. Simon nearly screamed when a forked tongue came out, and got him by his feet. His heart hammered up his throat as he was drawn into the mouth. Hands scrabbled at its lip, but it did him no good. It was too big. Too strong. And he was pulled past its lips and into its mouth. Little spots of warm yellow light dimly lit the toothy prison. The patterns they made would have been interesting, if not for the tongue moving ominously under him. It twitched, and Simon did not care for how that felt. At all.
Simon watched in absolute horror as the water level dropped inside the mouth following another movement of the tongue. The creature was swallowing. He could feel the tongue under him moving more strongly. Simon sucked in a big breath when the water level dropped past his neck. Then current started to pull him further in, prompting a screech of terror. He gasped as the tongue suddenly changed position. The forked tongue pushed him forward, oddly enough. His back hit the front teeth, and then the swallowing started again. Each big gulp sending shivers down his spine. Simon thrashed as the tongue grabbed at him.
“L-let me go! Don't do this!”
This went on for several minutes, each time he thought he was about to be swallowed, he was pushed back to the front. What was this thing doing? The water was gone. The creature stopped swallowing. Why? Simon pushed at the tongue when it came up on him again, starting to panic. The split end wrapped around his middle, pushing him forward and up slightly. He screamed, thrashing wildly in an attempt to get away from it.
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Grace felt bad. The little guy was panicking, limbs flailing about in his mouth. But the poor thing would drown if he didn't do this! He did his best to not flinch at the volume of the screaming. Grace did his best to keep the little one from going too far back inside his mouth. And keeping him from getting caught in his teeth.
“No no no nO NO NO–”
Oh he needed to speed up. The struggling was turning more and more frantic. It felt weird. Very weird. Feet kicking at the roof of his mouth. He was going to gag. It had been hard enough to swallow just the water, and not the one he was trying to rescue! He used the forked end of his tongue to firmly yet gently keep the little guy in one spot. His heart whimpered as he felt tiny hands scrabbling at his tongue. Hang on, little buddy, we're almost to the den… Then I can let you out.
“I don't want to die, please!”
Grace whined faintly. Poor thing… Ah, he could see his den! It was a cave, it had a steady air supply (from where, he couldn't figure out). Grace gave a few more powerful beats of his tail, and he was there. He heard Rocky stir, but his primary concern was the little one in his mouth. Grace cupped his webbed hands together, and carefully lowered his passenger into them. He made sure to keep his tongue between his teeth and the soft, tender body as he spit him out. The little man was curled into a ball, arms wrapped over his head.
“What is that, question?!” Rocky inquired, the stony crab staggering back a few steps. Clearly startled.
“A human, I think… He was drowning, I couldn't just leave him!” Grace replied.
The human was slightly larger than his middle finger. And was shaking terribly. Grace gently prodded him with a finger. Making a soft, worried noise.
“Hey… Hey you're okay…” he murmured, delicately stroking a finger along his back. The human scrambled away from the touch, eyes wide. Grace shuffled himself out of the water, and gently set the little man down. The little man scrambled back until his back hit the wall.
“Wh-what–” the little man choked out. Oh. Oh. Oh, he was crying… Grace could smell the salt. He whined sadly. Oh he really bungled this, didn't he…
“I mean you no harm, little buddy. You're okay.” Grace soothed. Fanning his ears idly. Rocky approached more carefully, settling down near the human.
“Sorry about friend Grace. He can be stupid when he doesn't sleep.”
Grace pouted at Rocky, snorting. Then he looked back at the little man. The poor guy backed himself into a corner, eyes darting between him and Rocky.
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Simon wanted out. He wanted to get the fuck out of there. His abductor, Grace, shuffled closer. That huge face came close. Simon screeched, flailing his arms out to try and ward the other off.
“Grace, give human space! Too close, statement!”
Simon curled into a tight ball, shaking violently. He could feel Grace's breath blowing over him. He peeked up, greeted by huge blue eyes and a tilted head.
“I'm not hurting him, Rocky… But he can't stay down here. I need to get him to the surface.”
The terrified man bolted as a webbed hand reached for him. He scrambled from one side of the den to the other in a frenzy. Heart threatening to leap out of his throat. He. Was. Going. To. Die. This thing was toying with him!
“I-It's okay! Hey hey hey, calm down–”
“YOU'RE JUST GONNA FUCKING EAT ME, WHY WOULD I CALM DOWN FOR THAT?!”
Grace paused, tilting his head. Big blue eyes blinked slowly.
“You… wha…? Why would I eat you?” Grace asked, looking at him as though he had two heads. The rock crab, Rocky, turned to face Grace. And made a low growling noise. Grace pouted at Rocky, giving a deep rumble of his own. Rocky was about half Grace's size, but Rocky seemed awfully confident.
“Is Grace fucking stupid, question? Human think Grace want to eat him because Grace put him IN MOUTH. WHERE FOOD GOES.”
The 5 legged rock crab stomped a foot hard, shaking the ground and sending Simon onto his butt. Grace recoiled at that, actually looking apologetic. Ears drooping. Simon kept a wary eye on the huge creature. Merman. He looked like a merman from old stories his mother had read to him as a child.
“I… Oh… I'm… I'm not gonna eat you, no… I'm so sorry! I-I didn't want you to drown, so I was pumping air into my mouth for you…”
Oh.
“Th-that's why you… Uh… Sw…”
“Swallowed the water? Yeah. Was the only way I could get you air. I'm sorry.”
Grace sank back into the water, looking like a kicked puppy. Simon got to shaky feet. Legs wobbling like a newborn fawn.
“Um… Thanks, I think? For not letting me drown.”
Grace gave a little dip of his head.
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Grace felt awful. Truly awful. He knew he'd scared the little one, but he didn't realize he'd scared him that badly! He sighed. How could he salvage this…
“Oh, um, you probably figured this out, but I'm Grace. And that's Rocky. And you are…?”
“... Simon.”
“Simon! Hi, Simon. And sorry, again, for scaring you.”
Grace pulled himself completely out of the water, and laid down with a deep sigh. Rocky came over, and gave his head a few pats. He was pleasantly surprised to see Simon following Rocky over. Rocky gently grabbed Simon in one claw, passed him to another, then set him down in front of Grace.
One ear pricked forward, Grace extended a hand towards Simon.
“It's okay. I'm just… Curious, is all… I won't hurt you.” he assured. Simon flinched upon contact, but allowed him to brush a finger against him. Soft… Then Simon's legs gave out. Grace craned his neck forward, catching Simon on his nose. The little human barely weighed anything to him. He felt the little hands, felt the warmth, but that was it. Simon stared back at him, looking fearful again. Rather than speak, Grace gave a low, deep rumble. And a slow blink of his eyes. Tiny hands braced against his nose and cheek, and he waited patiently as Simon got himself sorted out.
“You okay?” Grace asked carefully after a beat. Simon was now sitting on the floor, looking… Yeah, no, he wasn't okay. Stupid question.
“Rocky, can you stay with him for a minute? I'm gonna go find some food.”
Grace pushed back, and returned to the water. Gave him time to think, too. As he pursued a school of tuna, he wondered, what was Simon doing down there? Grace had heard the strange boat creaking from afar, and had drawn him to it. Which had worked out for Simon. He chewed on a tuna as he thought of the boat. He froze mid-bite as a horrifying thought hit him. That wasn't Simon's DEN, was it?! His home?! Poor Simon…
He ate his fill, then caught a few more tuna to bring back for Rocky. And Simon, if he wanted some. Grace knew he'd have to try and find Simon's house at some point, but he needed to build more trust first. He returned to the den, mouthful of fish. He clicked to Rocky, and made sure he got his share. Then he turned to Simon. Grace dropped the remaining fish at his feet.
“Uh…?”
“Oh… Too big? One sec–”
Grace picked one up, raked it through his teeth, and offered it again. Simon looked just as confused as the first time. Eyes darting between him and the fish.
“Grace. Humans don't like raw meat.”
Rocky's comment seemed to clear things up for Simon. As the man perked up.
“Ah, some fish can be eaten raw. Tuna's one of them. Is that… Really for me?”
Grace nodded happily. Lifting a hand and nudging it closer to Simon.
“Also, one tuna is more than enough for one human. Human small, statement.”
Simon laughed a little at that. A cute little sound. “Yeah, you can have the rest there, I'll, uh… Eat this. Thank you…”
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Simon was stunned. Grace… Was sharing food with him. Why? He didn't want to question it too much. Simon ripped strips of meat off, and wolfed it down. It had been a while since he'd last eaten.
He watched, slightly unnerved, as Grace slurped up a couple tuna of his own. Chewing on them like Simon would a chicken strip. Simon went back to eating his dinner, trying to think of how to get back to the surface. Without the C.O.I killing him. He'd failed the mission. If he didn't return with the blackbox, he was a dead man walking.
He took a shaky breath, running a hand through his hair. His heart hammering in his chest. So lost in his thoughts, he didn't see Grace's hand until it was cupped around him.
“You alright?” the merman asked. Simon wasn't sure how to answer. He really wasn't okay. But… Ugh…
“... Dumb question… I'm sorry I scared you, buddy. Um…”
Grace drummed the fingers of his opposite hand on the floor, sticking the end of his tongue out in thought. Simon found it slightly endearing. Rocky scuttled over, and prodded him in the side. Gently.
“Are you done eating, question?”
“O-oh, yeah, I'm– Yeah. Do you want the rest of it?”
Rocky took what was left of the tuna, giving Simon's hair a light ruffle before backing off to eat.
Simon turned back to look at Grace. Those big blue eyes looked at him intently. Thinking.
“I… Uh… Was that your home? That sank?”
Simon startled at that. Why was he asking…. Dread pooled in his gut. Did Grace want to keep him… Like a pet? What– His body started shaking as fear took hold all over again.
“Oh, oh I'm sorry, Simon… I-I think I know where it sank, I can try and bring it back for you?”
Simon stared up at Grace in shock. He… Did he just offer to bring the sub back to him? Rocky made a soft noise of concern. Scuttling back over. Simon squeaked as stony claws plucked him up.
“Grace Rocky find Simon home. Rocky will fix.”
Simon blinked in extra shock. Rocky ruffled his hair again. Then, Simon found himself being carefully set down in front of Grace.
“Rocky sleep, Grace watch, question?”
“Always, pal.”
Wha?
Rocky folded his stony legs under himself, and went still. Leaving Simon alone with Grace.
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Grace reached a hand towards Simon. Slowly. “Can… Can I pick you up?” he asked softly. Curiosity was nibbling at him now. He wanted a better look at Simon now that he seemed, well, calm-ish. He was still shivering, and it was starting to worry him.
Simon gave him a hesitant nod. Grace was extremely careful as he wrapped a hand around Simon. He was quick to bring his other hand up under the one holding the human, and cupped Simon in both palms.
“You're so light… And cold…” Grace shuffled to a wall, and leaned back on it. He cradled Simon against his chest to keep him warm. Simon stared up at him with wide, brown eyes. Grace found himself rumbling faintly. Simon looked down and around himself.
“Wh-what's that?!”
“Ah, sorry, it's just me! Rumbling a little is all. Sorry. Wait, you can feel that?”
Grace went for a hearty purr next. Simon's head tilted at that.
“Woah… Yeah…”
Simon's head tilted the other way as he continued purring. Grace gave a soft laugh, leaning his head down and playfully lipped at his hair. Not thinking about how it might look to Simon.
He immediately realized his mistake when Simon yelped and flailed. “Sorry sorry sorry! I-I–! I'm sorry… I didn't…” Grace took a deep breath, and slowly let it out. Ears drooping sadly. Simon just stared back. Wasn't struggling. Wasn't screaming.
“It… It's okay… Uh… Why'd you do that?”
“It's… We groom each other like that? My kind don't have claws, so we use our teeth. I meant no harm by it, I'm sorry…”
Simon seemed to think for several moments at that. Drumming his tiny fingers against his thumb. Then Simon gave a deep sigh.
“I will be very fucking upset if you bite my head off… Be careful, please…”
Grace watched in shock as Simon tilted his head towards his face. An invitation. A chance to build trust. He would not squander that chance. Grace was extremely gentle as he started grooming Simon's hair. Teeth barely making contact with the scalp. He used his tongue to help with the grooming as well. Guiding the hair through his front teeth to avoid pulling.
__
Well.
This was not on his life bingo card.
But here he was.
And it actually felt nice.
Simon held still as Grace more or less combed his hair. With his teeth. Simon shuddered as Grace's lips grazed over his head. And then… Then Grace started purring. The sound reverberated through him. His headband suddenly vanished, though. And the purring hitched.
“Whoops. I got it–”
Grace's tongue pushed it back on. It was a fucking weird experience. The two forks worked like fingers, acting in tandem to put the headband back on. And maybe he'd been alone for too long, because it felt nice.
“Can you do that again?”
“Do what?”
“What you just did with your… Um…”
“Oh, this?”
The touch came back. Gentle pressure at his temples. Simon actually liked how it felt. Not much different from another human massaging him. Simon's head drooped, and he gave a deep, contented sigh. When was the last time someone had done this for him?
“You'e gonna get a cwick in you'u neck doin tha…”
Simon couldn't stop the snort that came out of him at that. Grace was trying to talk through his own tongue, and it sounded ridiculous. A gust of warm air blew over him as it seemed Grace was amused too. The merman pulled his head back, a big dopey smile plastered on his face. Exhaustion from the earlier struggle in the water, plus the adrenaline crash from everything, began to take its toll on Simon. His head bobbed, and then he finally let it rest against Grace. The merman's purring rumbling through him. And it felt nice. It lulled him to sleep, warm and, for the first time in a while, safe.