Archive of Our Own

"I won't be gone long," Bucky said, sipping at his cabbage broth. It was really all they could afford on Bucky's measly salary and any money Steve could bring in from trading in cans and the occasional odd job.

Steve frowned down at his own bowl. He hated to be such a burden, but jobs were scarce, and Steve's long list of conditions made sure he never got any of the steady ones. He knew Bucky didn't like going out on the fishing ships, but it made more money than his job on the docks.

Bucky kicked Steve's shin under the table. "You keep glaring at your food like that and it'll spoil."

Steve turned his glare to Bucky.

Bucky smirked. "Three weeks. That's all. And we'll be set for the rest of the summer."

"I'll go out looking for stuff on the beach tomorrow," Steve promised.

Bucky sighed but didn't argue. He had known Steve long enough to know trying to stop him would be useless. He just clasped Steve's shoulder, shaking him a little. "Okay, Stevie."

When Bucky left early that morning for the ship, Steve walked with him. After getting Bucky's assurances that he would be careful, they parted at the docks and Steve headed to the beach.

The sun was just starting to color the sky orange, but it was already warm. It was going to be a stifling day just like it'd been all month, which was why Steve was up early trudging through the sand, collecting garbage and anything valuable off the shore to exchange for some coins. He never found much, but every bit helped.

So far, he hadn't found anything, and the sun was just going to get higher. Still, he wasn't going to stop until he reached the end of the beach near where the docks jutted into the sea. There was a tiny nook, hidden from view by large rocks, where all kinds of stuff got trapped and washed up onto the sand. A lot of it was garbage thrown off the docks, but there was usually something worth a few pennies.

He climbed over the uneven rocks along the water, ignoring the sharp points under his feet and Bucky's scolding voice in his head. When he finally stumbled over the last obstacle, he got a clear look of the small bay, and froze.

A body. There was a body.

His stomach swooped, and it took everything in him not to vomit. He was no stranger to death, it was hard to be in these times, but never like this.

It was a long mass of seaweed and netting. He couldn't pretend that that was all it was, not with the arm under the rope netting.

Steve scrambled over and fell to his knees on the sand. His hand hovered over the seaweed before he carefully started moving it away. His stomach lurched again. The male face he uncovered was pale but handsome, with trimmed facial hair in a peculiar pattern. He uncovered a mess of damp dark hair and a thin neck.

Steve pressed two fingers to find a pulse. The skin was sickeningly cold and slick. With his other hand he moved more of the seaweed away and... There were bright red scales?

The body jerked and Steve was elbowed in the stomach. He fell back as the body thrashed and twisted in the sand. Steve watched, wide-eyed as all of the seaweed was thrown off.

It wasn't until he stopped thrashing that Steve got a better look. He stared at the tail with wide fins at the end. Even covered in sand, the scales were bright red with a glint of gold. He'd never seen anything so incredible.

His eyes trail up. At first he didn't understand what he was seeing. Had a fish swallowed his lower half? But no. The scales gave way to skin, a torso, shoulders.... Steve blamed shock for not having seen the bright read scales on the forearms and webbing between the fingers.

He finally looked at the merman's face. Large bright fins flared out where his ears should have been. His eyes were large and frightened as he looked back at Steve.

The merman huffed deeply as if trying to get more air. Steve had the horrible thought that he may not be able to breathe.

Steve took out his small knife and crawled closer, but the merman twisted. Steve shuffled back and put his hands up. He supposed he didn't look very non-threatening with the knife in his hand, but he couldn't leave him there. Even if Steve had been strong enough to pull the net to the water, he worried the merman couldn't get out.

"I'm not gonna hurt you," Steve said, low and calm. "I just want to cut you loose."

The merman's eyes were fixated on the knife, but some of the tension left his body. Steve wondered if he could understand him or if it was the sound of his voice.

Steve slowly crept closer, keeping the knife in clear view as well as his other hand. He knelt down by the merman and grabbed some netting near the scaly elbow. The merman flinched but stayed still as Steve began to cut the netting down a line towards the tail.

When Steve reached what he supposed would be the merman's knees, the tail lashed out, whipping sand into Steve's face, forcing him to fall back again.

By the time Steve wiped the sand out of his eyes, he saw only the flash of the red tail and the merman drove back into the ocean.

He didn't know how long he sat there, staring at the empty net and wondering if he'd gone crazy.

He finally stood up when the heat began really getting to him. He took a moment to brush as much sand off his trousers and shirt as he could before putting away his knife and grabbing the net. Even with the large hole cut into it, it was worth at least a few dimes. When he turned to head back to the beach proper, a glint in the sand caught Steve's eye. He knelt, and carefully picked it up.

It was a single bright crimson scale that shined gold as he tilted it.

Steve had gone back the next day, and the next. He wouldn't do much more than peak around the rocks to see if there was anything there before retreating. He wasn't sure what he was hoping to find. He had the scale, which was grounding. Even if it wasn't a merman he saw, there had definitely been something there. And the net had been real. Even with the large hole Steve had cut into it, it still got him a lot of coins. For once, Steve was glad Bucky hadn't been there. He doubted he'd have been able to hide how shaken he had been, and he didn't need Bucky thinking he was crazy.

It was a cloudy wet day, one Steve probably shouldn't have been out in. Still, he trudged along the beach, picking up the cans and some scrap metal.

He almost didn't bother looking in the cove again, but he dutifully climbed around the rocks and peaked over.

He stopped, blinked.

In the middle of the cove was another large net. Thankfully it was filled with cans and metal, not a body.

Steve scrambled over. There were so many! He doubted he'd even be able to carry them all. He took a moment to wonder if he should leave it and bring Bucky back to help.

"Finally!"

Steve jumped and whipped his head around.

It was the merman, lounging on the shore. He was giving Steve a smirk that hinted at sharpened teeth. His red tail lazily waved behind him. Even in the cloudy weather, it was shiny and magnificent looking.

Steve opened and closed his mouth, probably doing a great impression of a fish stuck on dry land.

"If I'd known it would have been that easy to get you over here, kid, I would have done that days ago," the merman said.

"You're not going to eat me, are you?" Steve blurted out.

The merman snorted. "We don't eat humans. Besides, I wouldn't eat a kid."

Steve frowned. "I'm not a kid."

"Really?" the merman blinked. "You're pretty tiny for a human."

"I'm not a kid," Steve repeated with a glare.

The merman held up his webbed hands. "Okay, okay. You're a big man. I didn't come here to eat you or debate your size, alright?"

Steve hesitated, because now that the shock wore off a bit, he could clearly see that the net was bait. The merman said he didn't want to eat him, but there were plenty of stories of mermaids pulling sailors from their ships for some reason. "Why did you come?"

The merman smirked. "You're a scavenger, right?"

The term stung, but he couldn't argue with it. "I guess so."

"So I got you stuff." He motioned to the net. "You like this stuff, right?"

"Oh, thank you, but you didn't have to do that," Steve said, though he did open up the net to look at all the cans.

The merman watched him, his head propped up on his hand. "Most humans probably wouldn't have helped me," the merman reminded him. "I've heard about your circus shows and big fish bowls."

Steve grinned to himself. He couldn't help but imagine the mermaid in a large bowl of water, lounging and pouting at anyone who walked by. "I'm Steve," he said, holding out a hand.

"Tony," the merman said, staring at the offered hand, like he was expecting it to start doing something.

"You should give me your hand," Steve told him. Tony frowned, but held his hand out. Steve clasped it, surprised by how warm his hand was. He moved their hands up and down a few times.

When Steve went to let it go, Tony pulled his hand close to sniff at it. He opened their hands, but Tony didn't let go. He opened and closed Steve's hand, looking between his fingers. "No wonder you humans are horrible at swimming." Tony released his and but bent down and grabbed at Steve's foot. He lifted a it up, and Steve fell back on his butt with an oof.

Steve watched bemused as Tony prodded his foot. He bit back a giggle when he traced a claw down the middle of his foot. When he poked at his toes, Steve wiggled them. Tony leaned back in surprise. He moved Steve's big toe around.

"It's called a foot," Steve supplied, because he wasn't sure what else he should say to the strange merman examining his soles.

"I know what foots are," Tony said a little defensively.

"Feet," Steve started to correct, but there were suddenly raised voices on the dock above them. In the time it took for Steve to look up, Tony had disappeared in the water again. "Wait!" Steve said but he was already gone.

Steve didn't see Tony a lot, but every time he went down to the cove, there would be a pile of cans waiting for him. Steve didn't think he'd ever had so much money at one time.

Bucky was probably going to be suspicious when he got back. A few good hauls was okay, but to get so much money from cans... Bucky would probably accuse him of stealing them if he hadn't known Steve would never do that.

Steve was starting to feel bad about it. As far as he was concerned, Tony had repaid him with the first net of cans. But when Steve told him he didn't have to keep doing it, Tony would wave his tail dismissively. Tony had no use for the cans, and he was using it was an excuse to clean the seabed of all the trash from the docks.

Still...

So he decided to do his own collecting. Tony was always fascinated by human things. Steve had no idea what Tony would want, but he filled his pockets with all kinds of junk he wouldn't be able to trade in for.

The next time Tony was at the cove, Steve grinned and dumped his pockets onto the beach. Tony didn't waste time pulling himself on his elbows to pick through the items. "What's this?" he asked, his eyes darting over it all.

"It's not much," Steve admitted. "But I thought you might like some of it."

Tony hummed happily and started picking through it. While he was intent on inspecting everything from a spring to a bent nail, Steve's eyes followed his tail. The large fin waved happily back and forth above the water. It was a beautiful sunny day, and even in the shade of the dock, the scales were bright red and shiny. He still had that scale he'd found in the net, but it was nothing compared to seeing it on Tony.

"Can I..." Steve started, reaching a tentative hand out.

Tony stopped to look at him. The large fin on the back poked out of the water, and Steve took it as an invitation. When the tail came closer, Steve reached out to touch it, but hesitated, glancing at Tony for permission. All he received was a grin, so he petted the large fin. Steve had been afraid it would be cold and slimy, like most fish. Instead, it was smooth, almost silky. The little spines made long ridges along the webbing.

The tail suddenly turned, giving Steve a gentle pat on the side of his head. He couldn't help laughing as he reached a little further and petted the shiny scales.

Tony froze, and Steve looked over in concern. "Is this okay?" he asked. He didn't want to make Tony uncomfortable.

Tony stared at him and nodded slowly.

Steve bit his lip but continued to stroke the scales on his tail. "It's beautiful. I've never seen anything like it."

Tony cleared his throat and suddenly the tail was gone, hidden below the water once more. There was a blush on Tony's cheeks that rivaled the red of the fins on the side of his face. But he looked pleased, so Steve supposed that was a good thing.

Tony returned to looking through the pile. He picked up the dimes and pennies Steve hadn't realized he'd taken out as well. Tony scowled at them before tossing them over his shoulder and into the water.

"No!" Steve yelped, and waded into the water a few feet until the cuffs of his rolled up pants started getting wet. He looked down, but the water was too murky for him to see anything. He groaned.

Tony looked to the water. "What?"

Steve roughly ran his fingers through his hair. "That was my money. It would have bought food for Bucky and I for a whole week."

"You get food with that?" Tony asked incredulously.

Steve hesitated. "Yeah. Isn't that how it works for mermaids? Don't you, I dunno, trade seashells for food or something?"

Tony looked offended. "Why would I trade empty shells for full shells?"

Steve guessed he had a point.

Tony scoffed. "Humans are strange. You trade empty empty cans for full cans! Why don't you just pick the full cans?"

Steve smiled, shaking his head. "Cans don't grow like that. We, other people, grow the food and then put it into the cans."

Tony looked fascinated. "Why?"

"It's hard to grow things in the city," Steve explained. "If it gets canned, it keeps the food from going bad when it gets moved here."

"Humans are strange," Tony repeated. "But smart." He turned and dove back into the water with barely a splash.

Steve looked over at the pile. It didn't look like Tony took anything, and Steve couldn't help but be disappointed. He guessed he didn't pick anything good out.

He bent over, but before he could pick any of it up, Tony reappeared, sliding up the shore quite gracefully considering his one arm was tight against his chest. He moved his arm and suddenly tons of coins fell onto the sand next to Steve's pile.

He stared at them, eyes wide and mouth open. "Where..." he said faintly.

Tony shrugged. "They're all over the seabed. I couldn't figure out what they were for, but I figured they weren't worth anything. I guess they are?"

Steve nodded his head quickly. This was more than enough for him and Bucky for a whole month. He wouldn't have to go out on a ship again, maybe. But it wasn't really his to take...

Tony seemed to notice his hesitation. "I'll make you a deal," he offered. "You bring me interesting human things, and I'll give you any of these that I find."

"Okay," Steve said, slowly nodding. "It's a deal."

Tony smirked and thrust out his hand. Steve matched his grin and shook it.

"Tell me about the ocean," Steve said, taking a bit of bread with the cheese. Real cheese! He couldn't remember the last time he'd had real cheese. He wouldn't have normally splurged on it, but Tony had been interested to try it. To say he was unimpressed was an understatement.

Tony smirked down at the collection of tarnished cabinet knobs and a broken plate. "It's big and blue and wet."

Steve rolled his eyes. "Is it salty too?"

Tony looked up at him, shocked. "How did you know?"

Steve couldn't help but laugh, splashing Tony a little. "Please? I want to know what it's like living in the ocean. Do you guys have houses? Or cities?

Tony tilted his head, pushing the pieces of plate around, putting it back together. "We don't build places, really. But we do live together in colonies. A few miles off shore, past where the seabed dips, there's all kinds of natural coral reefs and caves. We live there."

Steve smiled. "That sounds nice."

Tony grinned and nodded. "It is." He glanced up at the dock. "It's nothing like here. No offense but you humans make some dull places to live. It's so brown and grey. In my colony, there's color." His eyes sparkled just thinking about it. "Greens and yellows and blues and purples. We like color. We invite as many color fish as we can, plant gardens of coral and anemones."

"I wish I could see it," Steve murmured.

Tony looked like he wanted to say something, but he seemed to think better of it. He smiled and just said, "me too."

Steve sat in his and Bucky's apartment. He stared down at his hands. He wasn't sure what he was going to do.

The dock worker had been tired, waterlogged from the walk in the rain over to the apartment. Steve hadn't needed to read the letter from the ship captain to know what must have happened. The scruffy man said there had been an accident. When a cable snapped, a young boy fell overboard into the rough waves. "Barnes" had dove in after him and helped get him back on the ship, but before he could climb back on-board, a wave knocked him into a fishing cage, trapping his arm. It plummeted into the water and dragged him down with it. By the time they were able to bring it up, Bucky had been gone.

The worker had given his condolences and left before Steve could say anything.

Steve grabbed his jacket, and walked out, not even bothering to lock the door.

The rain was pounding down, and the wind was almost strong enough to knock Steve over. But he still trudged on. He didn't realize where he had been heading until he reached the beach. He almost ran over towards the cove. He scrambled over the rocks, tripping and tearing a hole in his slacks at the knee. He hissed and got back up. In the cove under the dock, he was at least out of the rain.

There were no cans, or other signs of Tony.

Steve's heart was in his throat and he started to shiver. He knew he didn't imagine Tony, but at that moment it felt like he had to be. He felt so alone.

Steve sat down roughly at the shore. The water ebbed up to his seat, but he was already soaked to the bone. He brought his legs up and hugged them to his chest. He put his face down in his knees and let himself sob for the first time since he'd opened the door to the grim faced dock worker.

"Steve?"

Steve's head snapped up.

Tony. He was close, hovering near with his webbed hand out like he didn't know if he should touch him or not.

Steve lounged forward and wrapped his arms around the merman. Tony stiffened but relaxed and returned the embrace.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" Tony asked into his wet hair.

Steve shook his head with a sob. "Bucky. He's... he's dead."

Tony let out a heavy breath and tightened his arms around him. "I'm sorry, Steve."

The summer seemed to skip autumn, and slid right into winter. This year, Steve was able to buy himself a nice thick coat and some tough boots with the money he got from Tony. Instead of just the junk he could find, Steve started to actually buy Tony somethings. They sometimes cost a little more than Tony gave him, but his eyes lighting up in delight at seeing the few pieces of silverware, the small magnifying glass and the padlock was worth it.

Tony was particularly interested in the padlock. Asking all kinds of questions about how it worked. Apparently mermaids weren't interested in making things. They would craft some necessary tools for hunting and cooking, but most were uninterested in more.

Steve didn't know a whole lot about how it worked, but when he promised to read up on it, Tony leaned up and give him a quick kiss to the cheek, making him blush even more than the cold wind.

With a new coin purse he'd bought a few weeks ago, Steve made his way from the beach and up the docks to go home.

There was particularly loud rowdy group of drunk sailors that evening that Steve tried to ignore and walk past until one of them grabbed his jacket.

"This thing looks pretty warm," he slurred, leaning in to look at it and sending noxious fumes of alcohol from his breath.

Steve tried to stumble away but another one grabbed it too. "I could use a jacket like this. Too bad you're such a squirt. Is this a woman's size?"

The group laughed and Steve tried to jerk his arm away, angry. "Get off me." When the man just tightened his grip, Steve wound his arm back and swung.

Steve knew he wasn't strong, though that never really stopped him from getting into fights, so he knew when his fist connected with the man's nose and he fell hard, it had been the element of surprise.

Steve didn't like to run, but he didn't have a name in this fight and he scrambled to get away before the stunned group got over their shock. Unfortunately, they did far too quickly and grabbed at him. They got a couple good punches in, and when he fell back hard, his coin purse ripped open, scattering his money across the deck.

It was like sharks scenting blood in the water. The group went into a frenzy diving for the coins.

Steve yelled and tried to grab as many coins as he could, sending a few more punches.

Suddenly Steve felt himself being lifted up and hurled.

Steve watched the dock fall away, and hit the water like a brick wall. It was icy and cold, and Steve flailed, trying to find up, trying to breach the surface. He knew he must be sinking because it was getting darker. He started to panic and gasped. It felt like his throat and lungs were full of ice, stabbing him. The cold was so encompassing, he could barely move.

A dull numbness overcame him. His vision was blacking out. He only had a single thought for Tony when his mind slipped under, making him imagine he felt lips against his own.

The warmth hurt at first, like prickly needles all over his limbs. His hands and toes felt like they were on fire. He tried to turn away from the warmth, but he felt like he was floating, unable to get leverage on anything. He tried to move his limbs but it felt like they were weighted down.

Suddenly a cool hand grabbed his own. He jerked in surprise, ready to draw away until he felt webbing against his fingers and a gentle brush against his forehead.

The next time Steve became aware, he knew he must be in a dream. He felt warm rock against his back, but he didn't feel like he was lying on it. He opened his eyes to a soft glowing green light, the beams of it waving through the room.

He blinked. When he breathed in, he felt water rushing through his nose.

Steve flailed, breathing in more water and coughing it out, but it didn't seem like he was getting any air in.

He heard a hush behind him and arms wrapped around his middle. "It's okay. It's okay, Steve. Just breath normal. I know you're panicking right now. It's scary, but you're okay. I promise. I promise, Steve."

The voice was familiar and soothing, and he tried to do as it asked. He felt the water moving in and out of his lungs. Instinct told him he should be panicking, but the water didn't burn his throat or make his head dizzy. Instead, he became more and more aware of his surroundings.

The room was a beautiful green, covered in small glowing plants that swayed with the water. Glass-like stones and other corals covered the walls and ceiling and floor. It all seemed to glitter in the soft light. It was warm, and Steve noticed a hole in the rocky ground where little bubbled danced up to smaller holes in the ceiling.

"It's a natural hot spring."

Steve started and tried to twist around but didn't end up moving anywhere.

Tony laughed and gently grabbed his hand, helping him to turn around.

Steve stared at him. This jet black hair that was usually plastered to his head floated around his face like a halo. The fins on his head and tail swayed in the water current. His tail shown and glowed in the plant light.

"I," Steve started but stopped. He knew where he must be but... how?

Tony sobered. "You left, and I was swimming back home when I heard something hit the water. It was you."

Steve swallowed, remembering the fight and being thrown off the dock. The cold and the dark.

"By the time I got to you," Tony said slowly, "you had already been in the water too long. And it was too cold to just drag you up to shore. I didn't know when someone would find you, and you needed attention immediately."

"I'm breathing underwater," Steve said helplessly.

Tony nodded. "We don't do it often. It needs to be the right conditions, the right time." Tony met Steve's eyes, and the intensity took his breath away. "The right person." Tony reached up, brushing Steve's wayward hair from his forehead. "It usually isn't done with permission. There usually isn't time. When a human is drowning and on the brink of death, a mermaid can give them their gift."

"The gift of breathing underwater?" Steve asked in wonder.

Tony winced. "Yes. Yes, but. More than that. Everything." He gently picked up Steve's hand, splaying his fingers out.

Steve didn't notice at first, until Tony tilted his hand and blue glinted in the light. He gasped and looked at his hand more closely. There, nestled at the base between his fingers, was the beginnings of thin webbing.

"It'll grow," Tony hesitantly explained. He placed his hand on top of Steve's, showing his own webbing. "You'll get more scales. More fins... Less legs."

Steve gaped at him. "I'm gonna turn into a mermaid?"

Tony nodded. "I'm sorry, Steve. I really am. But I couldn't let you die! I couldn't-"

Steve wrapped his arms around Tony's neck. "Thank you."

Tony hugged him back tightly, burrowing his face in Steve's neck. The fin on the side of his face tickled Steve's own.

"I won't be able to bring you human stuff anymore," Steve said apologetically.

Tony reared back and looked at him like he was crazy. He opened his mouth a few times, but seemed unable to speak. Instead, he gave Steve and exasperated look, grabbed Steve on either side of his face and kissed him.

It took a week for Steve to make his full transformation. He was worried about his legs turning into a tail until Tony explained they'd wrap them up so they could fuse together. Steve said it was like a cocoon, and Tony had him explain the whole life cycle of butterflies.

Steve was still learning how to use his tail. It was frustrating to no end, and Tony wasn't helping when he kept calling him a small fry.

He was practicing swimming around a large spire of rock and seaweed when a body slammed into his own. He squawked and tried to twist away but the two large arms around him wouldn't let go. He was about to start hitting him, when he heard a voice.

"Stevie!"

Steve froze and looked over his shoulder at the grinning face. "Bucky?"

Bucky gave him another squeeze before letting him go. Steve took in Bucky's long black and silver tail that looked almost like a shark's than a fish. His hair was longer and flowing with the current. His left arm was covered in the same silvery black fleshy scales.

"What happened to your arm?"

Bucky looked down at it sheepishly. "It got caught on something. It was really damaged when I first woke up, but I guess when I shifted, the mermaid gift took care of it."

Steve suddenly remembered what the dock worker had said. "They said you drowned saving a kid."

Bucky huffed. "Yeah. Damn little stow away. He was pretty determined to help. Too stubborn for his own good. Reminded me of you." Bucky smirked, but when he looked down, taking in Steve's tail his grin fell off his face. "What happened to you?"

Steve shrugged. "I fell off the dock."

"Fell?" Bucky asked suspiciously.

Steve rolled his eyes. "I was thrown off," he admitted.

Bucky's frown deepened. "You never could keep yourself out of trouble. But a mermaid saved you."

Steve nodded. "Yeah, I actually, uh. Well, Tony-"

"Tony?" Bucky groaned.

"Hey, get away from that guy, Steve. He's a bum," Tony called out, swimming over with a smirk.

Steve grinned at him. "Tony, this is Bucky!"

Tony blinked. "Bucky?" He looked over at Bucky in surprise. "I thought your name was James."

"It is," he grumbled. "It's a nickname."

Tony stared at him a long moment before smirking again. "Bucky the Guppy."

Bucky glared, but he was hiding a grin. "Don't start with me, Tony."

Tony turned to Steve. "It took Bucky here a whole week before he could figure out how to keep from swimming upside down."

"That's a lie!"

"Okay, maybe six days," Tony said cheekily.

Bucky darted towards him, and Tony easily swam away and hid behind Steve. "I've seen you get your tail caught in some coral once."

"I was not stuck," Tony said indignantly.

As they bickered back and forth, Steve couldn't help but laugh. He didn't have his 'sea legs' yet, but he'd be swimming soon.