Phan Oneshots

Waves Will Pull Us Under

Summary: Dan is a marine biologist in training and Phil is a mermaid
Word Count: 5664
Warnings: minor character death, blood, mild violence

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For as long as Dan could remember, he had always been obsessed with the sea.

The fact that there was so much under the surface that begged to be unveiled made his skin tingle and his cheeks flush with excitement. It's common knowledge that the ocean takes up about 71% of Earth, and it's nearly impossible to tell just how many underwater species are yet to be uncovered. Considering there were only about 230,000 species uncovered and an estimated two million marine species in total, Dan wanted to be one of those people who travelled the depths in search for the terrifying, yet beautiful life within.

Granted, it could be absolutely mortifying on the occasion, especially when considering that the deepest part of the ocean is about 10,994 meters - or about 6.831 miles - at the Mariana Trench. The thought of what could even be living down there made cold chills erupt upon Dan's skin, goose flesh arising despite the warm atmosphere of the submarine he was currently residing in.

The mystery of the ocean eventually called to Dan, torturing him until he gave into the temptation, threw away the worries from his family, and decided to go for a career in Marine Biology. Sadly, he had to take a two year apprenticeship before he could actually call himself a marine biologist, but for now he was just happy to be exploring the sea with his mentor, exploring the trench that made his heart beat quicker at just the thought.

Even though there had been a few expeditions to the bottom before, Dan still wondered if they would find anything worthwhile.

"How are you holding up, Dan?" His mentor, Kyle, asked with a smile, looking out at the darkness surrounding them. His green eyes were sparkling in the dim lighting of the submarine and Dan wondered why he even wanted Dan there.

"I'm nearly pissing myself," Dan chuckled, sitting in one of the chairs. His eyes followed a small bubble as it floated to the water's surface, wondering how there was a bubble this far down. "How far down are we now?"

"About three thousand meters."

Dan whistled, his foot jiggling because he's been trapped in this tiny ass machine for about a day now and he kind of just wants to walk on real land. But that's the cost of loving the sea, isn't it? "What if our submarine breaks under the water pressures?"

Kyle cast him an annoyed look, rolling his eyes. "You're always so pessimistic, Dan. These things were made top-notch. That won't happen."

Dan huffed. "It's a hypothetical question, Kyle."

Another eyeroll. "Then I guess we'd die."

They lapsed into a relaxed silence, Dan picking at a thread on his jeans while imagining what would happen if they found something relatively terrifying this deep underwater. What if they found Nessie? He chuckled at the thought, reclining the chair a bit and closing his eyes because the loud beeping of the radar was giving him a rather intense migraine.

He must have fallen into a light sleep, because the next moment, he was being jerked awake by a rather large bang and Kyle exclaiming, "WHAT THE FUCK?!"

"What?" Dan mumbled, shielding his eyes from the light and turning away to continue with his nap.

"Dan." His voice sounded urgent, scared even. "Dan, you need to wake the fuck up, I don't-"

Kyle was interrupted by yet another bang, this one sounding slightly metallic, and being so strong that it knocked Dan off the chair, landing on the floor with a yelp and unidentified words. Dan's eyes shot open and he got to his feet quicker than he thought possible, his throat closing with just how much fear was pulsing through his veins.