Chapter 7

"You ready?" Danny looked over at the merman perched beside him on a rock. His voice was a little muffled from the mask, but the merman whipped up to look at him and grinned, nodding energetically.

"Yes! Danny?"

Danny laughed, "Ready, Phantom."

After nearly a week and a half, they'd gotten down the basics of yes, no, and a few other broken and phrases. Pizza still sounded like pyza but it was close enough. And just as they had worked on Phantom's speech they'd also worked on Danny's swimming, and after the few first times he'd managed to sneak away with an oxygen tank and wet suit. They'd continued learning about each other, about Danny's inability to keep a straight face when watching Phantom eat pizza like it was going out of style, and Phantom's partiality to having his back scratched because he couldn't quite reach the scales there himself, and of course of the wonder of just enjoying someone's company simply because they were near you, not always having to do something. Some days were just spent lying on the sand and dozing, simple because they could.

Now, they could be found on sizzling afternoon as Danny checked his swimming gear one final time. He glanced at his flippers, painted the same color Phantom's tail now in the hopes he'd blend better.

Danny nodded as the merman fidgeted anxiously next to him, fins starting to lift open as he stared restlessly off the rocks and into the deep blue depths. After a final check of his scuba tank, the human leaned over and dived into the water, heading out of the grotto and deep into the reef.

He wasn't surprised when Phantom flew past him, straight as an arrow, before spreading his pectoral fins and twirling in an easy spin to check on the human behind him. He was a better swimmer now but he would never match Phantom's speed and skill in the water. Danny kept his legs together and moved his torso, copying the long undulation Phantom's body went through. Without the flippers he felt (and probably looked) a little stupid, but in full get up like this Danny had realized three days ago that mimicking what he could worked wonders with Phantom—and especially the other merpeople that lived around the reef, who were definitely not as sure of Danny as Phantom was. As he swam with his merman he took note of the others drifting round them lazily, each having their own names from Danny, though they didn't know it since they never came to the surface.

For now, Danny was content to watch Phantom's easy movements; swimming after his friend and watching Phantom flip upside down effortlessly to duck under an overhanging rock. Spotting Danny watching him, Phantom's fins on his head perked and he flicked his tail, ending up before the human.

"Danny, air?" The merman suddenly questioned with bubbly noises, webbed hand settling on his tank. Danny smiled and gave the ok symbol, knowing a thumbs up would tell Phantom to go upward, whereas the ok symbol meant, well, just that. He was fine still. No need to worry.

Phantom nodded and looked like he was about to say something else when a third body sidled up, and Danny turned to see a…rather busty woman with long black hair trailing behind her, almost as long as her tail that had moved under her to balance her out.

She saw Danny and giggled, opening her mouth and…singing short musical tones at him. Danny waved at her in turn, trying not to stare and chuckled inwardly when Phantom whined at him and nudged his shoulder for his attention again, pointing toward a cluster of star fish down below them. Danny waved goodbye to the mermaid he'd called Desiree (after meeting her the first time, Danny sympathized with all those fisherman in the diner that complained of being bewitched to drive their boats into rocks) and followed after his merman. ..his? Well, never mind. It was true enough right?

Danny had just swam down to look at the starfish Phantom was pointing at when something blocked out what little light there was down here, casting them in shady gloom. He looked up in confusion when he saw various colored tails dart out of sight, with the exception of Phantom, who stayed by him. Danny's confusion turned to terror when he saw a familair anchor, a familiar paint job and a very familiar glass bottom. At that Danny swam out of the way too, dragging himself behind a rock and whipping around for Phantom. Had he taken cover somewhere else? Where—

No. Phantom was in fact darting up toward the boat and stopping dead under it, fins fanning out and shoulders tensing. Danny stared in horror as the merman fisted his hands and growled warningly at the moving boat. He swam backward, as if trying to assess the situation.

"Phantom!" It sounded more like a blast of bubbles than his name, but Danny didn't care. He'd started pushing himself up from his spot just as something hit his ears.

A sharp, high pitched noise started up, sending faint pulses even Danny could feel. The boat didn't even rock but…all of a sudden it did, as Danny watched his Dad's boots run toward the front of the boat for some reason. Phantom sliced through the water to the other side of the bottom of the boat, giving Danny a look at his face, and he was glaring. It wasn't playful or even livid just a firm, jaw set determined look. His mouth opened and that noise happened a second time as Phantom exhaled, a sharp wailing blast that echoed eerily through the water, hitting the hull of his parent's boat and presumably still going.

Danny almost choked on the air he was trying to breath. He winced and felt only a little relief when the boat turned and slowly headed the way it had come. Phantom turned to him, and Danny simply pointed to the grotto's underwater rocks far off and headed for them, knowing Phantom would follow him.

"What WAS that?" Danny asked, even before he was out of the water, having torn off the oxygen mask and trying to do three things at once. Stop the flow from the tank, stand up in the sand and question the merman that was slinking after him with curious rumbles and purrs.

Phantom looked at him like hed grown a second head, and because he didn't know the word for 'what' yet he said "Danny?"

"I-I mean…that was cool, you've done that before? How did you, why did you…Phantom what was that? The noise? The yeeeee screech…screaming thing noise you just…did." Phantom sniggered when Danny tried to mimic it.

"Danger." Phantom said slowly after a moment. He had learned that word when Danny had gotten his hand cut on a rock. Bad things.

"Pardon?"

"Danger…Phantom," The merman pointed to himself, then the ocean. "Ocean, friends, you, …mine. Phantom keep safe."

Danny itched his nose, hoping Phantom didn't see the blush. "…R-right, right, well, listen my hours up I uh…I better go home Phantom…thanks, you take it easy, okay?" He muttered quickly, gathering his things and groping for his bag. What would Phantom do if he learned he was keeping his home, friends and, and Danny safe from Danny's own parents? Would he get mad at Danny for it? Feel betrayed?

"…Home?" The merman looked at the sun and nodded a little reluctantly. He knew Danny couldn't exactly stay here; though it wasn't for a lack of Phantom's trying the first few nights actually.

"Bye Danny."

Danny couldn't help the smile, forgetting any embarrassment at the earnest expression on his friend's face.

"Bye, Phantom."

After shoving the wet suit and hiding the oxygen tank with some other empty ones, Danny tiptoed upstairs and blinked when he saw his parents at the table, his mom fiddling with a small electrical box. There were some other parts scattered around her, and grilled cheese frying in a skillet as she worked. The part looked like they might have come from the boat.

"…Mom? Dad? You're home early…"

"Oh, hey son. Yeah, well when the radar starts smoking your mother gets all worried about fire and stuff and we, unfortunately, had to turn back." His father muttered, his huge frame sitting sullenly hunched over in his chair.

"The frequency was completely ruined, Jack! It's an old system, that's all. .I think…if I just…fiddle here..whatever was thrown out of whack will…throw itself back into whack."

So mermaid's voices can make men sort of fall into a trance…does that mean…merman's voices do…what Phantom's did to mom's equipment? What the hell did he even do?

Danny excused himself, and went to go eat in his room. He shoved his bag under his bed, and collapsed at his desk, pulling out the notebook he'd started scribbling things about Phantom he'd learned into. It occurred to Danny, as he munched his food and wrote down the merman's wail and all his thoughts on the matter, that maybe Danny didn't have to worry about Phantom as much as he did.

Maybe the guy was more than capable of taking care of himself, and also the vast reef zone around Amity Island he called home.

Danny made it to the grotto the next day to see Phantom already pulling himself out of the water, waving at him excitedly.

"Danny! Danny, here! Here!"

"Hey Phantom—Phantom! Alright alright I'm coming!" Danny laughed as he hopped down a couple rocks. "Hang on, what's got you so worked up buddy?"

But the merman only pointed toward the ocean, where Danny didn't see anything of excitement personally, and gestured for him to get ready.

"Just give me like, five minutes, here, tuna sandwiches, you love those."

For once the merman took a few bites then abandoned his food, whining anxiously and slapping his tail against the water. Too focused on hurrying for his friend, Danny pulled everything on, and had barely attached his mask before he was tugged into the ocean. Used to Phantom getting overexcited about things, Danny just laughed and let him, wading out and diving into the waters after the merman. Phantom took off, banking sharply toward the right over the reef and past it. Danny paused for a second before following, wondering vaguely what was out here.

It was deep too; soon he couldn't even see the bottom of the sea floor anymore. He ignored his mild anxiousness and focused on the merman swimming effortlessly before him, glancing back every so often as if to check to see if Danny was still there or not. They stayed like this for what felt like ten minutes and just as Danny was about to make Phantom either slow down or tell him what was going on, he swam over a large rock formation and saw it.

His noise of surprised wasn't missed by Phantom, who had dropped speed to match Danny's and was now nodding encouragingly as if to say 'yes, see!?'

Danny stared for a moment at the huge sunken ship, just taking it in. It looked…old. Suddenly he wished he paid more attention in history class, as he observed the broken mast, the half wrecked wooden mermaid smiling blankly up at them. Once this ship had been a might vessel, maybe even one of the best for its time, but now the sea had claimed it due to some accident, and here it sat on the bottom of the sea, alone and dark.

Now I know where the fork he gave me came from… Danny thought to himself, thinking of his…collection of gifts back home he'd stashed under his bed in a box. To date he had four stones, two clam shells, a small pearl and a fork, all given to him by Phantom over the past few days. Each time Danny had paused, and each time he found himself unable to resist at the look of hopefulness until he took it, which was then replaced by a wide grin and little hint of pride, if Danny was going to be honest with himself.

I guess it's something for show and tell in homeroom. Danny thought dryly as Phantom swam down to the ship, and he followed a moment later. I can hear it now, what I did on my summer vacation was…I'll be laughed right out of the classroom.

Wondering how old this ship was, and unable to see a name, Danny let himself be tugged by the crooning mermaid toward the ship's hull, which had a hole in it the size of a small car. No wonder it sank. There was the creaking of old wood and Phantom's cheerful murmurs, bubbles drifting everywhere. The human and merman stuck close together, exploring the downed ship and forgetting the time as Phantom tried to figure out what the rusted lighting fixture was supposed to do, and Danny spent five minutes laughing his butt off when Phantom got his head stuck in a lampshade. Danny winced when he swam over what looked like partial skeletons in old style clothing, and avoided closed doors, feeling rather gun shy about the dark corner and trying to stick to where the ceiling had fallen away to let in the light from above.

Phantom, oblivious and pretty much fearless, stuck his nose everywhere and in everything, and only growled aggressively once when Danny and an octopus came across each other. The octopus quickly scuttled away when the merman darted in-between it and Danny and spread all his fins, his scales shifting to take on a bright shimmering flare that only made the smaller sea creature hurry along.

Danny was having fun—maybe too much fun. He hadn't noticed his oxygen tank emptying, and he certainly hadn't noticed when the hour he had of air started ending, leaving him breathing less and less.

He did notice when he was trying to swim out of the ship's hole though, and bumped his shoulder. He floated there a second, trying to think about what he'd just done and found his brain just seemed to be...not that quick. Come to think of it…were there less bubbles floating past his eyes? Hah, bubbles was a funny word. There was a pressure on his shoulder, moving him into the ships shadow and into open water, deeper and deeper, but Danny didn't notice Phantom, or the fact he was inexplicably sinking, or the questioning noises the merman was giving him. All he noticed was the tightness in his chest had spread and numbed him, and he couldn't quite keep his eyes open. But he felt calm and at peace and this…this wasn't so bad…right?

Oh no…his tank…Danny looked over his shoulder, then upward. Every movement was sluggish and lazy, and it felt like the hand he was trying to lift toward the surface, toward air, was made of lead.

He was so…sleepy…

Danny's eyes started slipping closed, just as he felt his mask torn from his lips and replaced by—

"Mnpff!" Then suddenly glorious living giving air. Danny's eyes flew open; nearly going cross eyed to focus on the merman who currently had his lips pressed firmly against Danny's and was breathing into him. Phantom let the last of air leave him, then pulled back, meeting Danny's hazy eyes anxiously, but it was enough to keep him conscious at least. Seeing this, Phantom perked up and grabbed him by his chest, dragging Danny's mostly unresponsive body into his arms before swimming upward with a powerful wave of his tail.

They broke the surface just as Danny felt lightheaded again, at both the speed and lack of oxygen. He came up sucking in air and started coughing harshly, gripping the only thing he had to, out here in the middle of the ocean, clutching at Phantom with shaking hands and letting the merman support him.

"Pha—" Danny coughed, "Phantom, land….we need…land, P-Phantom," He gasped hoarsely, hoping the merman would understand where he was trying to point, toward Amity Island. It was currently a medium sized bump on the horizon.

The next Danny knew he was being moved, held over Phantom's shoulders and his arms slung loosely around the merman's neck. Half on his back like this, Danny let his face drop against the back of that gilled neck and coughed softly, moaning as he felt Phantom's body rising up and down below him. He was swimming strongly like he didn't even have a passenger at all, and said passenger just mumbled his thanks weakly and let his eyes drop close, focusing on just breathing in and out until he could think straight again.

By the time Amity had doubled in size, Danny realized the back he was pressed against, despite being mottled with little black scales, was cool and clammy but not…disgusting. In fact it felt nice and, and familiar and secure. This was the same body he'd leaned against when they were napping in the sun, the same skin he'd buffed a handful of sand against to get the dead scales off when Phantom started growing new ones in.

Right…and he…he kissed me. Another wrack of coughs reminded him the reason behind the impromptu kiss but it was a kiss nonetheless! Danny was suddenly very glad he was back here, Phantom couldn't see his blush. Just because a kiss means something to me, doesn't mean it means the same thing to Phantom. Remember the first time you hugged him?

Danny went scarlet more and buried his nose in that stringy white hair, earning a rumble of concern from Phantom. Danny mustered his strength and patted that bumpy shoulder, and after a moment felt the swaying sensation as Phantom's tail cut through the water, propelling them toward shore with efficient, steady motions.

Phantom did that just to save me right? Still, at least he did save me and not…let me drown. Not like he ever would but still. It'd be just my luck to fall for a guy, that's also not even my same species. As if I didn't have enough to worry about…

Swimming like this, with Phantom doing the swimming really, was more than a little lulling.

Phantom couldn't…care about me THAT much…

He must have blacked out, either that or a very dark blanket fell over his eyes, because the next thing Danny opened his eyes to was blue sky, clouds and a gull here or there, high up. HEAT was all he felt on his back, and the gritty bedding of sand as he laid there clung to his slowly drying suit, skin and hair. Someone had removed his goggled, tanks and flippers, and that someone was also pressed against his side, Danny could hear that funny breathing noise Phantom did above water.

"…Phantom…" He was mumbling the merman's name like a prayer before he even realized it. "Phan…where?" For good measure he lifted his hand from his side, relaxing when cool fingers matched his own fingertips and a purring noise met his ear.

"Land, Danny." Came that low, warm voice, and Danny closed his eyes, sighing softly. It could have been his imagination, but maybe a hand pushed his bangs out of his face as he rested there.

"…thanks Phantom."

Phantom just murred happily, and stayed stretched out on his side around Danny, shielding him against the wind quietly as he watched over the boy.