AN- hello, Nasomta here! I was recently made a mod of a blog on tumblr where people submit in AU prompts and we mods write ficlets and drabbles based around it. It's MCU based, so I figured I might go ahead and post my responses to some of the prompts here. Each chapter will be different, so see the Chapter preview slidedown to see a brief overview of what AU is in each chapter!
Prompt:
Steve is a sailor and Bucky is a merman trying to lure him to his death
Of course, he thought grumpily, watching the human on the docks through bright membrane-shielded eyes, of course the one time I manage to catch a human's eye and he's a damn runt.
Natalia was going to lose scales laughing about this one. He could hear her teasing already and he hadn't even gotten the kid in the water yet. The first time he manages to snare a human and the quarry's small enough Bucky's fairly certain he could lift him up with one hand; the rest of the pod was never going to let him hear the end of it. He was barely enough of a mouthful to go through the effort of drowning, but he'd gotten this far so he might as well do it.
The human stood at the end of the dock, dressed in one of those strange outfits the boat-humans wore that was way too big for his tiny frame, watching him with eyes that were bluer than the ocean could ever dream of being. He was all ungainly bony limbs and unruly dirty blond hair and dirt-smudged pale skin that looked as thin as fish fin; Bucky was pretty sure he'd caught minnows fuller fleshed than this runt. But the fact remained that he was a human, and catching humans was a very highly valued skill.
With the sun having long vanished behind the horizon and the moon low in the sky it was simple enough to guide the human where he wanted him, enticing him off of the dock and into the shallows, luring him slowly out towards deeper water with sweeping movements and velvety croons. With his barbed fins laid flush against his body he was able to appear more human, looking less like the dangerous predator his kind was to heighten the illusion; the low light hid the scales that ran the length of his arms and down his chest, shadowed his sharp teeth and made the silhouette of his long, sinuous body melt away into the choppy water.
Humans were so easy to fool and trick into entering the water. They were curious by nature, entranced by things they knew nothing about; a simple flash of glittering fins or jeweled scales in the shallows got their attention and lured them close, then soft sounds and beckoning eyes drew them deep into the water and into an inescapable, poisoned embrace. Nat was a natural at luring, while Bucky was inexperienced with the whole act other than the drowning part. That he could do. He'd helped Nat with it countless times when she managed to catch two humans at once. But where she was stealthy, calculated and deathly efficient, he was clumsy and awkward, lacking the predatory grace that this required.
Bucky was getting nervous. Everything was going rather alright, with the human now in chest-deep water, but not quite putty in his hands like he was supposed to be by this point. If he slipped up now he could lose him. He could wise up to the trap and start thrashing or screaming which would draw attention. That was definitely something he wanted to avoid, since attention brought weapons and fishermen.
He made a soft croon in the back of his throat, a keening noise that was distinctly inhuman but entrancing anyway. It was hard swimming backwards and keeping his black and blue and silver scaled tail from accidentally brushing against the human, which would break the illusion easily, but he wasn't well practiced in it and his head kept slipping under the water. He'd jerk back to the surface, sputtering and hissing under his breath, but he could feel himself losing his focus and that was a dangerous thing.
Shit, Bucky's thoughts fell into a jumble as he felt the human's hand brush against one of his fins, SHIT, the human blinked suddenly, eyes losing the unfocused look he'd been sporting since he first slipped into the water. Bucky felt his heart flutter, fins and frills flaring out in a fear response, shattering what little illusion of humanity he still had going for him. No amount of clever tricks could hide his reflective eyes or sharp teeth that ached to bite, so he sank down until the water reached just below his eyes, hissing a stream of bubbles through the gills at his neck in defeat.
The fins that framed his face drooped dejectedly, but even with that and his ears mostly underwater he heard the human laugh at him. A bright and bubbly sound he'd only heard in passing from above the waves, never directed at him by a human. If he could blush he was sure his cheeks would have been bright red, but being cold blooded had its drawbacks. Instead his fins bristled at the embarrassment, the poisoned spines bared, and without further ceremony (and to prevent the human from yelling or doing anything to further his shame) wrapped his tail around one of his ankles and swiftly pulled him under the water.
Bucky would be lying if he said that the human's startled face as he was pulled under wasn't a little bit satisfying. It was easy to sink down to the sand, hooking his claws into the fabric humans seemed to be so fond of wearing, tail still wrapped around one of his legs to keep him from kicking so easily. Now it was just a waiting game, one that he knew very well.
The human felt far too fragile under his claws, all thin bones and taunt skin and heart that beat too fast and stumbled over itself. Air leaked from his mouth, panicked noises caught in his throat that twisted at Bucky's insides for reasons he couldn't place. He'd drowned countless people before, granted none around his own age, and never had this sort of reaction but for some reason this human runt with his bright blue eyes, golden hair and bubbly laugh was getting to him.
Even with time ticking away the human fought, thin fingers digging into his arms and his free leg kicking at his scaled ribs. He even bit and tore one of his fins, squirming and stubborn as a shark in his refusal to drown. It was admirable in a way, and before he could even fully contemplate what he was doing Bucky had unwound his tail from him, gently nudging him up to the surface.
As soon as he broke the surface the human gasped, breath wheezy and rough but grateful nonetheless. He splashed frantically and tried to speak but his words were garbled and rushed and incomprehensible; on a good day Bucky could understand most basic human words, but speaking was beyond him. This human's speech was accented and jumbled but he was able to make out "fish" and "thanks" and "Steve". What the heck did that mean? Did he want a fish? Was Steve a name? Did Steve want a fish? No way was he giving him a fish he was supposed to be dinner!
Bucky made a low clicking noise in his throat, flattening and smoothing his fins down so not to accidentally jab the human with a poisoned spine. He shoved lightly at the human-Steve?-with his webbed hands, nudging and pushing him back towards shallow water. If he couldn't bring himself to eat him then at least he'd make sure none of the others of his pod got to steal him. He'd get this human, eventually, but for now he needed to figure out how to drown him without those big blue eyes of his making him feel guilty.