walls keep spinning (and my path keeps turning) | Simon x Grace | BloodyMary
āToday, can I try swimming by myself?ā Simon asked quietly, voice barely audible over the waves.
Grace turned to him, surprised.
āBy yourself?ā He repeated. āLike, with me not in the water?ā
Simon nodded nervously. āI want to try.ā
Grace shifted awkwardly from one foot to the other, shifting the weight of his lifeguard tube as well. It had been a gift from Rocky when Grace had told him he wanted to teach Simon how to swim. Rocky had even made it bright red, somehow, to be just like the ones heād seen in Earth movies.
After a few moments of silence, Simonās nervousness grew. His prosthetic felt too heavy for his body suddenly. āOr not, you donāt-ā
āOkay.ā Grace said, hesitantly. āWe can try a solo swim.ā
Simon instantly relaxed, breathing a sigh of relief. It wasnāt that he didnāt like swimming with Grace, he did, but Grace tended to hover just a bit too much. Simon had been getting better at swimming recently. He could handle himself.
āIāll just, uhā¦ā Grace looked around before plopping down on the sand, lifeguard tube resting in his lap. āSit here. Sound good?ā
Simon nodded and Grace gave him a small, albeit nervous, smile.
Simon turned back to the water and began making his way in. The water wasnāt ice cold. It was just warm enough that it wasnāt a complete shock to his system. As he wadded further, the waves began to increase in size, rocking him ever so slightly with each step he took deeper in.
When he was up to his waist, he slid down and pushed off, swimming towards the rolling waves. He let them rock into him as they gently pushing him back. Heād stand back up in the waist high water before pushing out again, letting the waves do all the hard work of sending him back a few feet.
But after a while, he grew bored of the gently waves that only barely moved his body. He wanted something a bit stronger. The waves just a little further out were a bit bigger. Theyād send him back further. He wanted to hit them.
So he walked further this time, timing his walks between the waves. As he approached the larger ones, he found them pushing him back even further and harder. It was nice. He liked the force. It wasnāt targeted or intentional. It wasnāt like when he was shoved around in prison. This was just nature doing what it does. It wasnāt personal. It felt nice.
Suddenly his feet are no longer touching the ground.
He begins to tread water like Grace taught him. Itās a bit of a struggle with the prosthetic, but he manages to get a good rhythmā
A wave pushes him back and he goes under. His feet hit the sand underneath and he instinctively pushes off, propelling himself up above the water.
Itās in his eyes. He canāt see. He tries to raise his hands to wipe away the water, but as he makes contact with his eyelids, another unseen waves pushes him back down. His feet once again touch the sand below and he pushes back up, sputtering for air that had been knocked out of him, his eyes still shut from water.
He gives up on trying to wipe his eyes, settling for getting back to shallower water where he can stand properly.
Except he doesnāt know which direction the shallows are in.
So he picks what he thinks is most likely and begins to swim. Or tries to, anyway.
Another wave pushes into his right side and sends him back under, and this time he has to fight to get back up.
The waterās everywhere now. Itās in his nose, in his mouth, in his eyes. It burns his throat.
He attempts to float on his back with his weight distributed in an attempt to get some air into his lungs, but every attempt to get his body horizontal is met with a wave pushing him under. When he comes back up, he coughs wetly between short gasps of air that barely fill his lungs before another wave crashes over him.
Now when he gets sent down, he can no longer feel the bottom under his feet. Is he even right side up? Which way is up? Where is he? He canāt see.
He comes up for air and attempts once more to swim in what he hopes is the direction of shore, but the waves have different plans, rolling into him and rolling him over. The world spins.
Heās going to die.
The thought hits him harder than the waves.
Oh, god, he was going to die.
Panic fills him and he begins thrashing in an aborted attempt at both staying afloat and swimming away.
He doesnāt want to die. Not like this. Not here. Not after everything heās gone through. This canāt be where he breathes his last, it canāt! Someone help him! Please! Help!
āHelpāā he calls weakly as another wave pushes his head just under the surface of the water.
When he comes up again he calls louder, āHELP!ā
Distantly, he hears a loud splash. Or was that the sound of the waves hitting him?
Another wave rocks him and he goes down, thrashing violently underwater, swallowing water and the little air he had managed to suck in. He thinks he bites his tongue but doesnāt taste any blood.
And then an arm is hooking itself under his armpits and across his chest and dragging him up.
When he breaks the surface, something thick and buoyant is shoved under his arms and he clings to it like a raft.
āItās okay! Iāve got you!ā
Itās Graceās voice.
Simon reaches up and wipes his eyes for the first time in what feels like hours. He feels Grace begin to swim and pull him along. He looks over as he coughs up water. Grace looks between him and the shore behind him. He doesnāt have his glasses on. Simon looks forward and sees the clear lenses floating in the water before a wave sucks them under.
āYour glassesā¦ā he mutters weakly as another fit of coughing hits him.
āItās okay, weāll find them later.ā Grace assures, not stopping his stride.
It isnāt until they get to waist-high water that Grace stops and finally stands, helping Simon to his feet.
Simon sways.
Even though his feet are firmly planted on the ground, he canāt tell which way is up. His body still feels like itās being batted around by the waves, and his legs wobble. Grace practically lunges to keep him from falling over, slinging his good arm over his shoulder.
āCome on, letās get out of the water.ā Grace says.
Slowly, they begin to push through the shallows until they reach dry sand, and Grace helps Simon sit down.
Simonās chest hurts. Why does it hurt? Why canāt he breathe, heās not underwater anymore, oh god, why does it hurt so much?
āHey,ā Grace says, gently, grabbing Simonās right wrist and bringing it to his chest, just above his heart. āBreathe with me.ā
Simon feel Graceās chest rise and fall in big slow breaths. It takes a few seconds before he starts to mimic it. His chest loosens as air floods in. He can breathe again.
He lets out a shaky gasp.
āCan you bring your knees to your chest for me?ā
Simon nods and does as Grace asks, curling himself up into the fetal position. It helps.
āAre youā¦ okay? Does your throat hurt? Do you need some water?ā
Simon shakes his head and lets out shaky chuckle. āNo, I inhaled enough already.ā
Grace tries to laugh to but it comes out pained before he grows serious. āI think we should go back to the house and have Armando check you out.ā
He goes to stand but Simon grabs his arm, stopping him. āWaitā Can weā¦ Can we just sit here? For a bit? Please?ā
Grace hesitates, but eventually lowers himself back down, sitting shoulder to shoulder with Simon.
Theyāre silent for a while. Simon breaks it first.
āI thought I was gonna die.ā He murmurs.
Grace turns to look at him. āIām sorry I didnāt get there sooner. From where I was sitting it looked like you kept diving under the waves. It wasnāt until you yelled āHelpā that I realized what was happening.ā
āI almost didnāt say it.ā Simon admitted.
Graceās face became one of shock. āWhat? Why?!ā
Simon shrugged a bit. āI thought I could get out of it on my own. Then I realized that I wasnāt strong enough.ā
A look pain flashes across the blond manās face. āOh, Simonā¦ā
He pulls the black haired man into a hug. Simon freezes.
āYouāre plenty strong. But you donāt have to be strong all the time. Itās okay to ask for help, even when you feel like itās something you should be able to do alone.ā
Simon brings his hands up and squeezes Graceās back tightly, his chest hurting for an entirely different reason now.
āThank you for saving me,ā he cries weakly, burying his face in Graceās shoulder.
āOf course.ā
āI was scared.ā
āI know.ā
āI didnāt want to die.ā
āI wonāt let you.ā
āGrace.ā
āI know.ā
āGrace.ā
āIām right here.ā
And Simon is crying, the reality of what just happened finally hitting him in full.
Grace just pulls him in tighter, rocking him gently as he sobs into his shoulder.
The two of them sit like that for a while, even after the tears stop falling, and the only sound around them is the crashing waves that seem to have calmed down a bit.
Musical chimes echo off in the distance.
The two men pull away from each other and turn to see Rocky scuttling along the beach as fast as his legs can take him.
Grace Simon! Grace Simon! Grace Simon!
He slows down just enough so that when he crashes into Simonās left side the man isnāt too injured.
Heās speaking too fast for either of them to be able to understand.
āRocky, buddy, slow down.ā Grace says calmly.
Rocky sorry sorry sorry!
Grace stares at him, befuddled. āSorry for what, bud?ā
Wave machine break! Make stronger waves than should! Rocky not fix in time! Friend Simon get hurt!
Rocky begins to run circles around the two, scanning both for injuries even though he doesnāt need to move around them to see.
āRock, hey, calm down.ā Simon says gently, attempting to soothe the Eridian.
Simon hurt, question? Simon hurt, question??
Rocky stops running in circles in front of Simon, his musical voice panicked and high.
āIām okay, now, Rock.ā Simon assures. āGrace got me out.ā
Simon really okay, question??
āYes, I am.ā
At the confirmation, Rocky visibly sags, body relaxing. He begins crawling between Simonās outstretched legs before settling in his lap, the front of his xenonite suit pressing against Simonās stomach.
Rocky glad friend Simon okay. Rocky scared scared scared.
His musical notes almost sound like heās crying.
Simon wraps his arms around the xenonite as he gives him a hug. āItās okay, Rock. Iām okay.ā
Really, question?
āReally, statement.ā
Rocky goes fully limp at that, and Simon hugs him harder.
Grace smiles tiredly and leans against Simonās shoulder. Simon raises his right arm and loops it over Graceās shoulder, pulling him into the hug as well.
āThank you.ā Simon whispers, a few more tears falling from his eyes. āBoth of you. For saving me.ā
Inspired by me almost drowning yesterday at a water park, because I cope with traumatic events in weird ways. So Simon's entire ordeal here (including most, if not all, of his inner dialogue) is almost 1:1 what I experienced yesterday. So yeah, this was the easiest fic I've ever written cause I basically just recounted everything that happened to me from Simon's POV, lol.
Gonna cross post this on my AO3, too, if anyone's interested: https://archiveofourown.org/works/87614311
@rayne1 (Because you asked so very nicely ā¤ļø)
