Chapter Text
Tony was pulling Steve in a boat. This seemed like the most efficient solution to their current predicament; they were stuck in a place that would kill them if they didn’t leave soon. And Tony refused to leave Steve behind.
So Tony had found a boat, and was now pulling Steve in it.
They’d managed to avoid the worst of the fighting by a hair. When Steve had asked Tony how he knew what canals to take and what shoal to avoid, Tony had refused to meet his eye.
Eventually he’d shrugged and mumbled “I can taste the blood in the water.”
There were still screams and explosions in the distance, and Steve was feeling worse and worse by the minute. He couldn’t imagine leaving his platoon behind, and Tony knew this, had seen this during the weeks they travelled together. But Tony had asked him to trust him, and so Steve would.
Suddenly Tony stopped swimming. When he turned to Steve, he was grinning.
“Found them.”
Before Steve could ask what he meant, a dark shape appeared from behind a rock, and suddenly Tony was dragged underwater. The water churned and the boat started rocking, and before Steve could do more than stand up, several more shadows appeared and surrounded the frenzy going on beneath him.
Tony hadn’t seemed upset, but simply losing sight of him was nerve-racking, and Steve was starting to contemplate jumping overboard himself when Tony reappeared. He was laughing, and his arms were around the neck of another man. The man was laughing to, hoisting Tony upwards, towards the sky with his arms around his waist, and Steve felt a twinge of jealousy, which he immediately dismissed.
“Steve!” Tony sounded elated. “This is my best friend and eternal plague, James Rhodes! And also the solution to all our problems. Well, most of them!”
“I’ve seen you for thirty seconds and you’re already counting on me to bail you out of trouble? Wow Tones, you’re completely hopeless, aren’t you?”
The man was still grinning, and Tony grinned back.
“Of course, honey bear, what else are you there for? Now, who are all these handsome fellas around us?”
Steve realized that the shadows around them were other merpeople, whose heads had risen above water and were watching the reunion with impassive faces.
“This is my platoon. Our current assignment happened to bring us round here, and I figured, why not pick up an old friend on the way?” Tony was laughing, and Rhodes smiled back at him. Then he turned towards Steve and his expression fell serious. He raised a hand out of the water and held it up, towards Steven in the boat. Steve noticed he had a few glittering scales around his wrist and elbow, similar to Tony’s, only Rhodes’ scales were a deep maroon colour.
Steve took his hands. Claws scraped around his wrist. “Steve Rogers. Pleasure.”
Finally, Rhodes grinned back. “Likewise. Call me Rhodey.” He turned back to Tony, who had been watching the interaction intently. “Now, The easiest thing would be to just grab you and swim out of here, but I’m guessing you’re not gonna make it easy for us.”
Ton nodded. “No. The island will collapse soon and sink into the sea. When that happens, a ship will be riding the wave out of here, through the armada, which will be scattered enough for the ship to escape.”
“I’m gonna give you the benefit of the doubt and assume your plan was to be on that ship.” Rhodey murmured. Tony gave him an affronted look.
“Of course I was gonna be on that ship! I know what’s at stake! But things changed, and now I’m here. And now you’re here to!” Tony lit up. “And you’re gonna help me save every man still alive who’s fighting in the sounds around the island.”
Rhodey stared at Tony. Then he looked at Steve. Then he threw a glance around the circle, which had erupted into whispers when Tony told them the island was going to be sunk, but was now back to its collected calm. He took a while, and then.
“Alright.”
Steve felt his knees go wobbly. Everything was gonna be fine. Bucky would be alive, and now these merfolks was gonna get him out of here. They were gonna get Sam out. And Dumdum, and Falsworth, and everyone. It was gonna be fine. And Tony was still here, still solid, and for the first time, Steve felt as though the world was no longer slipping through his fingers.
…
Tony was holding Rhodey’s hand. They were zipping along the shoals, and was just about to reach the open sea. Behind them, in the boat pulled by three of Rhodey’s soldiers, were Steve, Jarvis (and Tony hadn’t choked up when seeing the old man, he’d simply swallowed some seawater down the wrong pipe, never mind that he was breathing with his gills, shut up Rhodey), Sam, Gabe, four more of Steve’s soldiers, five pirates, and three of the army’s men. Rhodey had told him that they’d found another boat closer to the other side of the island, and some useable driftwood only a little way back. The people Rhodey had brought couldn’t know the difference between Steve’s men and regular soldiers, so they had simply decided to bring anyone still alive, and knock out anyone who was still resisting. Every so often, a merman or mermaid who’d found a living person came swimming up to the boat and heaved another hacking body aboard. Tony knew that being towed behind a mer who only cared that you breathed enough to stay alive wasn’t the most comfortable experience, but so far no of the people brought in had complained. At least, not after they coughed up the last of the seawater.
Tony was simply worried about who were in the other boat or on the driftwood, and who risked being left behind. With no quick way of communicating between the mers, it was impossible to do a roll call.
Then they found Rocken.
It might be more accurate to say he found them. The last rock before the open sea, the man was standing there and waving at them. A mer was sent over to fetch him.
Steve lurched in the boat behind him, and Tony turned back to look. Steve was excited, and Sam was starting to get so too.
“Tony! Rocken can do a headcount! He gave us each a bee, and he can talk to them! See who’s still alive!”
“Oh!” Tony turned to Rocken, as the man was being towed over to the boat. “Can you do a headcount?” Then Tony realized that Rocken couldn’t hear them. His ears were underwater.
Once he was in the boat though, Rocken confirmed it.
“Yeah, I can get a picture of where they are. Or I should be, in a minute. If ya let me meditate for a bit. Also, why do you guys have tails? Tony ain’t got no tail.”
Rocken, without waiting for a response, elbowed two people out of the way, drew his legs up under him and closed his eyes. Jarvis was watching him intently.
Tony looked at Steve and realized he was staring down into the water. Tony nudged Rhodey, and Rhodey obligingly lifted his tail so that Steve could see the fins and scales. Steve looked back to Tony for an explanation.
“Later, okay?When we get out of here. We’re all mers, same species and everything, but there’s a reason I’ve got legs and they don’t, and I can tell you later, just not know.” Tony glanced a little uncomfortable, at the strange sailors in the boat. Steve nodded. Before Tony could react, Steve reached down, the mers in front of the boat pulling out of the way, so he could brush the side of Tony’s face. Tony startled, he hadn’t even realized how close he’d drifted to the boat.
“It’s fine. For you, I’ll wait forever.”
Tony blushed furiously, and heard Rhodey snort behind him.
“If we get out of here, that is. We can’t go any further until we know the island is about to collapse, or we’ll be sitting ducks in front of the armada.”
“Don’t worry.” Rocken pulled himself forward, startling everyone as he leaned on Sam. “I can feel the tremors. That’s kinda my thing. It’ll happen.”
Steve recovered first. “How many people are left?”
“Not many. At least not many who are still breathing. Two of ours, and Barton. He was close to the caves for some reason, but he’s already been found by a merperson and being towed away as we speak. I don’t think he’ll make it to a draft or boat though, so we’ll have to leave him to the tender mercies of your man, sir.” Here Rocken nodded towards Rhodey.
“He’ll be kept alive. My men and women can swim with one human as long as it’s necessary. We’ll have to pick him up on the way out though, there are no islands nearby that they can get to on their own. Where are the rest?”
“I’ve let the other two know to make their way into the water and splash about. They’ll be picked up soon enough. There are only three pirates who’re still alive left in the sounds, but all of them are being towed towards the other boat.” Rocken sniggered. “I wish I coulda seen their faces when they were dragged under.”
“Rocken, focus.” Steve chided.
“Right, right. Anyway, there are also two sailors being towed towards the raft, and they’re not ours, but honestly at this point it’s easier to save them than to let them drown in the wave.”
Tony interrupted. “What about the ones in the boat? And on the raft? Who are they? Who are accounted for?”
“Can’t tell you.” Rocken shook his head. “Some a’ them lost their bees when they were being towed. I can only tell you who were still left behind.” Rocken threw a glance towards Sam, who looked as though he wanted to shout. “There’s no use askin’ me ‘bout who’s still got their bee either. It won’t tell you whether they’re dead or not.”
Reluctantly, Sam leaned back.
Rhodey grabbed Tony’s arm. “We’re ready. Can you feel that?”
Tony sank back into the water. He could. The movement, the currents and the tremors passing through him were different. “Yes. What about the last ones?”
Rhodey signaled something with his hands, and a young mermaid rose up above the water, so her voice could be heard. “The rearguard have just returned. The two last soldiers were picked up and will be in the other boat in two minutes. The boat will be at the edge of the sounds in one minute after that. The raft is full and has reached the edge of the sounds. We have lost track of the lone man, but Carol was the one who took him, so he should be fine. No survivors left behind, and all mers ready for action.”
She said this aimed at Rhodey, but when Tony tilted her head, she swam closer to him. “How many mers with each group?”
One mer with the lone man, four mers with the raft, six with the boat, and here, including Rhodes and myself, eighteen, y-“ she cut herself of, hesitating on how she should finish the sentence. “Tony.” she finally bit out, when Rhodey nudged her back.
Tony nodded, and she sunk back under the waves.
Tony looked out towards the armada. The sun had well and truly risen now, finally dragged itself over the horizon, and the mist was slowly disappearing. The screams and shrieks had died down. The men in the boat, those he loved and those he had never seen before, were now staring at him. He knew if he ducked his head into the water, he’d see the mers, those towing the boat and those circling around, looking at him too.
He reached out and grabbed Steve’s hand where it was griping the edge of the boat. His other hand found Rhodey’s shoulder. He was where he belonged, with his humans and his mers, his body in the water and his head in the air, between land and sea, where he was meant to be.
Tony inhaled.
The island rumbled.
Tony exhaled.
“Showtime.”
…