The water wasn't nearly as boiling hot as you had feared, but clearly Anti was not feeling the same thing you were. The waters stuck to your skin like a film, and stayed there, no matter how you could have tried to wipe it off.
You were not the one screaming, and one glance at the demon told you why: his flesh was being burned away.
Even so, you were struggling to stay afloat with the crashing waters and lack of your lower legs. You were trying not to thrash about, but without your feet it was too difficult to manage.
Anti, despite his screaming in pain and his skin being eaten by the Sea's waters, grabbed onto your arm and tried to swim further in. "A-Anti, what are you--" you tried to speak but only earned yourself a mouthful of the awful, burning water. It tasted like salt and ash.
"SHUT UP AND SWIM!!" you heard the demon over the waves.
All you could do was trust him. Despite your handicap you swam as best as you could manage, with the green-haired demon trying to pull you along with a hand that felt awfully skeletal. This thought made you squeeze your eyes shut for a few moments, but then you realized: his flesh was growing back and being burned away at the same time.
No wonder he screamed in pain.
Swimming was difficult, but soon you realized why you were being made to: there, in the distance, lay an outcrop of stones, mostly flat. Enough to climb up, anyways. It may have been right in the middle of the Sea, but it was better than being burned alive endlessly for the demon.
Once the two of you reached the stones, Anti shakily pulled himself up onto the flat surface before pulling you up, as well. Sure enough his bones showed through his burnt flesh, especially in his face. Everything had been burned away.
Once you both were safe on the stones you vomited into the water, too terrified to look at the demon again. He lay on his side shivering as the film of the deceptive waters clung to his flesh. Anti began to cry; he could not help it. He had only ever been in the Sea once before, and he had sworn that once was enough. To escape would have given him an even worse punishment, yet he had just done so, twice now. "Please..." he begged, trying to reach for you. The film of water was visible on his flesh, making you want to puke all over again.
But you understood what it was he needed. Despite the churning in your gut you went closer, gently trying to peel away the film. You went for the face first and, to your disgust, bits of his hair and flesh was peeled away with it. You gagged but kept up the work anyways; you wanted desperately to help the demon from his suffering.
Soon, enough of the film had been removed from his body so that his flesh could regrow and stay. Still shaking he swatted your hands away, peeling the rest from his legs before lying back down. Tears ran down his face as his body returned to normal, and even his clothing was healed and replaced.
Unsure of what else to do, you lay a hand on his broad shoulder, hoping it would be seen as a comforting gesture. He didn't speak, nor did he remove your hand; the demon simply cried himself out. His glitching was non-existent. "Anti..." you began, as the weight of what he had just done started to sink in. "Anti, you..."
"I... I teleported... I shouldn't have done it... I fucking know I shouldn't have... but... you...." Sniffing a little he sat back up, eyeing you with an expression that could only be deemed as.... "You'd have drowned."
"So... why didn't you let me?" You had a feeling, but needed to hear it said out loud.
"You know why I fucking did this," he spat, lacking his usual frustration and anger.
"Why shouldn't you have teleported?"
"Against the laws here."
"And... you did it anyway because you..."
Anti looked over at you, tear-stained and otherwise soaked, pale and shaking badly. "Because I fucking love you, that's why."
You swallowed hard, a lump forming in your throat. "A-Anti..."
"He doesn't know about these rocks. He's never been in the Sea. I'm the only demon that's ever escaped, and it's only because of these rocks." Still shaking, he moved closer until you could rest your head against his shoulder. "This is all your fault, bitch," he added, grinning a tiny bit.
"Please don't call me that...." you begged softly.
He said nothing; it had become a habit at this point.
Eventually, exhausted, you began to doze off against him, and he laid you down with your head in his lap. Absentmindedly he played with your hair, peeling away the film of water that didn't affect you nearly as badly as it did him. The demon watched you sleep, seeing how peaceful you seemed, and it hurt. It hurt to have you there. You didn't belong in Hell, you didn't deserve any of the terrible things that had happened to you.
Anti frowned. It wasn't fair, to remain in Hell just for a demon.
Was it?
(●)~
When you woke up again, Anti had moved away from you, sitting on the edge of the rocks and watching the waters. He knew that you were awake but did not turn to look at you. "I'm getting you out of here," he spoke softly. "I promise you, I'm getting you the fuck out of here. You don't belong here."
Something felt wrong, very much so. You crawled your way towards the green-haired demon, frowning a little bit. "Hell hasn't been as bad as living with a demon like Dark," you murmured, sitting beside him.
"That isn't the fucking point! You don't belong here!" He sighed and ran a hand through his messy hair. "I'm not letting you stay here just because you were dumb enough to fall for a demon like me. I'm no better than he is. We're both terrible beings."
You had, after all, fallen in love with one demon instead of the other. And for that you were immensely thankful. To stay with Dark would surely have meant your death; after all, hadn't he expected you to drown in the Sea? "But I... I don't want to go back without you," you replied, another lump forming in your throat. Tears pricked your eyes, stinging.
"I'm not giving you a choice."
