Gold | Dreamnoblade

Waves

Techno let the smell of salt fill his lungs and burn his eyes, the familiar feeling crashing over his thoughts, muffling them beneath the water. He took a deep breath shoving his head into the water and driving all his energy towards the swim. It was his stressor but also his outlet for it. The water had pulled him into currents and choked him and yet he always came crawling back. He never pulled his hand back from items that burned, instead pressing in. 'The burn means you're getting better' always rang through his head whenever he felt too exhausted to continue. One push after another, just one more.

He took a breath at the wrong moment, rising for air as he choked on the salty water. He quickly swam to the shore, shit, he had gotten pretty far out hadn't he? He pulled himself up onto the wet sand, coughing up the water from his lungs as he heaved.

"You good man?" A voice pulled him from his thoughts.

He turned his head, finding a runner slowing down to a walking pace as they approached.

"I'm fine," he croaked out roughly, followed by a cough.

The man raised his hands in submission, "alright, just checking," he responded defensively, before running off. His hair was blond like the sand beneath his feet, his skin tan and glowed in the setting sun, and his eyes stuck with Techno, bright green with a ring of gold. Techno felt his breath stutter but he wasn't so sure it was because of the water. He pushed that quip down though and went back out into the water. Before he did he looked at how far he had swam to get to that spot on the beach, he inwardly groaned. The swim back would be rough.

He was right. The sun had set and the water had quickly cooled and the picking up of the wind had caused the waves to rapidly change. Growing in size and ferocity. Pulling Techno out and pushing him back in, a repetitive motion that should have warned Techno to quit. He was in new territory, a new country at that, but he never backed down from a challenge. It would be the death of him, he was confident, but it hadn't killed him yet.

His arms kept moving. Occasionally he would look up and sigh at just how little progress he had made. He kept swimming. A particularly tall wave crashed over him and he felt himself get pushed off his groove, getting dragged out into the ocean as it receded. His head rose as he looked for the shore, getting turned about by the waves. He spotted lights in the darkness and began swimming but another wave crept up behind him, pulling him back. Further back. Shit. He dove under trying to avoid the waves. Stupid move.

~
He felt a current grab his feet and he grasped for the surface sinking away from him. He got another gasp as he pushed upwards.

"You okay?" He heard before his head was dragged back under.

Fuck. Fuck!

He pushed against it, not thinking rationally anymore, taking in water before he hit the surface. He heard a splash.

"Don't!" He choked out a shout. No need for some spectator getting sucked in and actually dying from the current. He was an Olympian for crying out loud! He could do this. He sunk back under, gathering his thoughts. He began to swim with the current but moved left, curbing its path. He felt the grip loosen. He looked up only to see no surface. He was suddenly very aware of his lack of air. He began swimming upwards. Just before reaching the surface his body broke down, letting in water.

He was so fucked.

As he began to lose touch of his limbs he felt a grip on his arm and his body pulled upwards. Unable to understand what was happening he let himself get pulled closer to shore, breathing roughly. He felt the drag of wet sand on his back and the person pulling him to dry land. Techno turned onto his side coughing up the water. He could hear the man saying something as he did, actually, he was pretty sure the man had been talking the entire time. He didn't care. He flopped back onto his back, dizzy and dazed.
~

"Should I call someone? Of course I should," he muttered, grabbing out his phone, sounding more like an inner monologue than a conversation.

"No, no, don't," he strained, the last thing he needed was Phil telling him off for swimming so late.

The man sighed, sounding relieved, "Good, you're alive."

Techno chuckled slightly, "no thanks to me, thank you by the way."

The blond laughed. Blond. Oh, this was the runner from earlier. "No problem, I was a lifeguard for five years."

That explains it. "Lucky me I guess," Techno said, closing his eyes to relax a little.

He could feel his saviors smile, "you do this often?"

Techno took a moment to formulate a response, "Drown? No. Swim? Yes."

"Hm, you seem very practiced at both."

"Oh fuck off," Techno jabbed with a roll of his eyes. He only drowned about once a year, thank you very much.

"Alright, guess I'll leave you here to die."

Techno heard the shifting of sand but he knew he wouldn't actually leave. His suspicions were confirmed with the boys speaking up after a beat of silence, "do you think you can walk yet?"

Techno opened his eyes, pushing himself up onto his shoulders and pushed himself up, hissing a little at the burning in his chest. The man offered a hand but Techno was never great at taking help, the exception being when he's on the brink of death, instead he picked himself off the ground. Brushing off the sand. He hated the way sand stuck to anything it could get its hands on. It was grainy and uncomfortable and he reveled in the way water washed it away.

"Awesome," the guy said enthusiastically, "where's your car? Or are you taking the bus?"

Techno raised a brow. "I'm good, thanks."

"You're good to not take the bus?" The boy asked, "that's fine, I can help you to your car-,"

"No, I'm good," he emphasized.

The boy raised one back, "you just took massive amounts of water into your lungs, there's no way you're 'good' yet."

Techno shrugged defensively, wincing at the sudden motion, having forgotten the soreness in his shoulders. "Well I am, so thanks for saving me, but I'm fine now." He muttered coldly.

"I'm not-,"

"I can take care of myself," he spoke more strictly, hoping he'd finally get the memo.

The boy's brows furrowed and he leaned back away from Techno. "Fine." He said loudly, "Glad you're okay I guess," he spoke under his breath. He slowly took back into his run, going at a faster pace than Techno had seen him take yet. He had really pissed him off huh? Not his problem.

He began to walk against every joint in his body's request. The cold wind was now nipping at his skin. He really wished he was back in the water right now but he supposed he should probably take a break from that for the night. He couldn't wait to be back in his bed for the night.