hello this is a happy birthday ficlet dedicated to tumblr's mahsmaladehubbington!
Warnings: beach shenanigans!
Disclaimer: hussieeeeeee
Day at the Beach
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"Dave, come on, the water isn't so bad once you get used to it!"
Dave stands at the edge of the water, sort of dipping his toes into the shallow waves that come up far enough on the beach, but he doesn't come any closer. "Nope," he shouts back. The wind is really strong as it usually is at Ocean Shores, and his hair is flipping around at the wind's will. He looks pretty dorky in his red swimsuit and sunglasses, John thinks, all lanky and pale and freckles everywhere. Dorky and kind of really cute.
"Hahahaha, Dave is just too cool to swim!" Jade exclaims sarcastically, and shrieks delightedly when Rose splashes her.
"No shit. Swimming is lame," he calls, and crosses his arms over his bare chest. John doesn't think he's ever seen Dave look more out of place.
"Yeah, it's the swimming that's lame, definitely," John drawls, dragging out the first syllable in definitely to such an extent that there's no way Dave won't catch on that it's just a ploy to rile him up. He reacts exactly the way John wants him to anyways, giving a little huff, the arms over his chest tightening as he looks away.
"Oh yeah, real mature," he says.
"And totally true!" Jade pipes in before jumping on Rose's back, both girls giggling as Jade's legs wrap around Rose's waist.
John wades back to the beach, moving slowly through the waves that are trying to pull him back, and finally he's standing in front of Dave, who seems to relax in the close proximity. "Hehe, what, Dave? Scared to get a little wet?" He winks and grins at the flush that spreads to Dave's ears. "Come on, I'll bet you're too chicken to swim out as far as me!"
He pulls away and Dave's lips part a little as he does. "Bullshit," is his surprisingly gasping response.
"Prove it, then, Strider! Come catch me!"
He jumps back into the waves and is pleased to hear more splashing behind him. Soon enough he's so far out that the waves are almost taller than he is, and the water is getting deep. He lifts off the ground and starts doggy-paddling, laughing and panting at Dave's exclamations of how fucking cold this water is jesus dick this is the shittiest excuse for a pastime Egbert fuck you.
But after a moment the complaining dies down and is replaced with some very fervent splashing and a gurgling sound that makes John's heart drop into his stomach. He turns around just in time to see Dave disappearing beneath the surface. Eyes wide and heartbeat hammering away against his ribcage, John shouts, "Shit! R-Rose! Jade! Please help! Oh god, oh shit!" and makes his way to where Dave had sunk, fighting the waves that are trying to knock him over and coughing at the saltwater that gets in his mouth. He tries to feel for Dave beneath the waves but the water is murky and oh my god no Dave fuck this can't be happening. He dunks down under the surface, not caring if the salt scratches his glasses, just needing to find Dave. Finally he feels a limb pressing against his leg, and he almost gasps in relief but for the fact that he's underwater, and reaches around and grabs the arm.
When he returns to the surface Rose and Jade are there and grabbing onto Dave, and together they all swim Dave back to the beach, but all John can think is fuck fuck shit oh god he isn't breathing I was too late goddamnit how could I let this happen.
They sprawl him out on the sand, tossing the shades that had somehow stayed attached to the side, and Rose and Jade look around in a panic. "Isn't there a lifeguard somewhere nearby?" Rose asked, tone verging on hysterical.
"There's no lifeguard on this beach."
"John, you're the only one who knows CPR here!"
Shaking uncontrollably, John stacks his hands and places the heel of his palm on Dave's chest above his heart, beginning to pump hard in rhythm, the song Stayin' Alive playing in his head loud enough that he can just hear it over his own inner panic. After four pumps, his left hand goes under Dave's neck, lifting it so that it's bent at an angle, the other hand going up to plug Dave's nose, and heart in his throat, leans down and presses his lips to Dave's, breathing air into him.
He pulls away after several moments, about to go back to pumping at his chest, until Dave starts coughing harshly, water spilling out of his mouth and dribbling down his neck. They all gasp in relief as Dave gasps for breath, and John doesn't notice that Jade grabbed Rose's hand because his eyes are fixated on the jerking rise and fall of Dave's chest.
"F-Fuck, Dave, why didn't you just say you don't know how to swim," John stammers, wiping away frightened tears that he suddenly realizes had streaked down his face.
"Because fuck you. Fuck you is why," Dave rasps in return, and his hand drags into John's wet hair when John leans down and kisses him. His mouth tastes like salt.
"You're an idiot," John groans into Dave, whose only response is to kiss a little harder. John thinks this is probably better than talking anyways.