He wasn't sure how long it was that he'd been swimming, now. But he could tell from the burning in his limbs and from how much more often he had to steal a quick breath that he wouldn't have to swim much longer. The sodden fabric of his clothes was dragging Lovino down, down, down… He was losing the strength he had to fight it. Just as he began to go under, Lovino flipped himself around to get a final glimpse of those stars. The salt water stung his eyes and blurred his vision as it rose up over his face; the lids drew over and his body began to sink down, down down. A flurry of tiny bubbles escaped from his clothes and he let the cold water cradle his limbs. Everything slowly faded to black.
He had been following the boy from the moment the boat's engine had broken his doze. Curiosity drew him towards the noise; nobody ever came out here at night. Antonio watched from below as he swam with smooth, confident strokes away from the boat. A flick of his fins had him following, always swimming on his back, and his eyes tracking the boy.
Antonio noticed when he began to struggle, when those strokes became short and jerky. He frowned in concern when he didn't turn back, but just plunged on with more determination.
What was he doing?
And then he watched as the boy began to sink. Something was deeply wrong.
He pushed himself through the water and caught him in his arms. Tail working furiously, he dragged the boy back up to the surface. Immediately, he gasped for breath - but his eyes stayed closed. Antonio swam awkwardly back to the boat, keeping this stranger's head above water.
The sky was beginning to be tinted with pale greys, and only the brightest of stars were still visible by the time they two of them reached the boat. Antonio knew he wouldn't be able to get up there, so he waited for the other to wake up. His tail never stopped moving as he held himself in place, shifting his hold on the young man - not a boy after all - so he could hold him above the water more easily.
Eventually, his eyes slid halfway open, the sun's first rays lighting his hazel eyes.