#ohlafraise

Anyone who's read my stuff knows I like to whump Nicky and put Joe in emotionally torturous situations, and that's exactly what my iron maiden AU does. More shameless angst for my own sick enjoyment hehe. However it also addresses Nile's introduction to immortality, and her exploration of the possibilities now open to her—as well as what possibilities are now lost. Is she cursed, or is she blessed?

The story kicks off with Nile's death:

In the desert, Nile dreams of water.

She isn’t sure at first that that’s what it is; she isn’t even sure what she is. She is formless. Mindless. Suspended in nothing. No, not nothing: it’s cold. Cold wraps all around her, still and silent, pressing in on her until she isn’t sure she remembers what warmth is like.

She tastes salt. This reminds her that she has a mouth, but she doesn’t open it. Her newly remembered jaw is shut tight, as immovable as stone.

Her awareness slowly, reluctantly, extends through her body in bits and pieces. Her eyes are closed, and they itch beneath her lids. The top of her head presses up against something solid; her toes just barely brush something else.

And suddenly she realizes her lungs are on fire, burning in her chest, and she can’t breathe, she can’t breathe—

Nile wakes in the med tent, shivering, to an unmarred neck and a medic who won’t look her in the eyes.

Then we switch to Joe's perspective. We'll continue to move back and forth between Nile, Joe, and Nicky (spoiler: he's not dead lol) in real time and occasionally hopping backwards in time because I can't resist a flashback or seven.

Here's a snippet from Joe's first chapter:

On the plane from Cardiff, it all comes rushing back in.

The first few days are always the hardest, when he takes a break from his search. The others have always made sure he takes time off, sometimes asking for his help on a job, and other times—Quynh’s preferred method—simply showing up and dragging him away for “some fucking rest, Joe.”

Every time, it hurts to leave. The water seems to call to him whenever he turns his back, and he has to fight not to whirl around and go right back to looking. This time, it’s the new girl who is pulling him away. It’s because of her that he’s flying inland, anxious and heartsick and moving further and further away from his Nicolò.

So no, Joe doesn’t expect to like her much.

Really, there wasn't a better research partner she could ask for than Magnus. This project was their baby, Maia determined to look into the usual collection of marine life in the bay. The assortment of things that lived in the area didn't make any sense in the quantities in which they did - predators should have been making an impact on numbers. That  was what Maia was trying to do today: get the numbers.

Counting fish was about as hard as it sounded, too.

Magnus was more of a chemistry expert to Maia's marine biology, so they'd started the day by collecting samples - water, soil, rock, everything that might be useful. They would mostly go back to their lab, but when Maia had left the boat Magnus had started some field analysis on the water, since he wasn't diving. Someone had to stay with the boat, after all.

The very words ‘diving solo’ had drawn massive reluctance from Magnus, but Maia had been diving her whole life. Whilst some situations were better off with a partner, this wasn't even a deep dive, and Maia knew she'd be fine. The boat wasn't that far away. And, even if something did happen, it wouldn't take Magnus long to find her.

She'd be fine.

Moving forward into the chasm of the shipwreck, Maia slipped under the mast and down to where a collection of coral and molluscus seemed to have taken over the harsh surface for its own. Maia knew the wreck hadn't been here for long, but the growth and the way the ocean was effectively reclaiming the wreck was incredible. She wondered why no one had ever tried to recover it.

Not that it needed recovering now.

Raising her camera, Maia took a few more photos, searching around the exposed deck of the boat for anything interesting. It seemed as though most of what was there needed a lot more study - she could always swap her air tanks and then come back, give the place the attention it deserved.

Just as she was about to go, a dart of colour caught her eye, the flash of a fin that was far bigger than anything she'd seen all day. Maia frowned, moving forward. That was… unusual. She checked her watch. Seven minutes. It would take her a bit of time to prepare for another dive, and by then this unusual specimen could already be gone.

It wouldn't hurt to take a look. It shouldn't take that long.

Moving towards the open door, Maia slipped inside through the gloom, trying to see where something that big could have gone. There weren't many options, but the whole place felt like a maze. She barely knew which was was up, never mind which was to go.

There there it was again. A flash of red, just in the corner of her eye.

Moving forward, Maia found the increasingly small gap blocked by some old crates. Hanging her camera around her neck, she grabbed on with both hands and pushed. It was just a bunch of crates. It wasn't going to hurt anyone, right?

Carefully lifting the debris out of the way, she swam forward through the gap, squinting as the water seemed to get even darker. It was like swimming through soup, and Maia doubted she'd be able to see much more than her hand in front of her face down here, let alone a mysterious fish.

But the cracks in the hull let through a little light, which just allowed her to see the whip of red colliding with a rusted doorway as the whole ship trembled when the door slammed shut.

She paused for a moment, analysing. Everything seemed stable, just for a moment. And then the crates she'd moved to get inside all shifted and collapsed, colliding with her back.

Maia darted out of the way as best as she could, but something hit her tank, tangling up in her gear. She immediately reached over, checking the monitor.

She was leaking air. That probably wasn't good. Worse, the entrance she'd used was now far too narrow to fit through with all her gear. She'd never get through there. Maybe if she dropped everything she could squeeze it, but the thought of freediving all the way out of the wreck and to the surface sounded daunting, even for her.

“Magnus, something hit my tank,” she said quickly, aware she was wasting the precious little air she had. “I'm going to try and make it back to you, I'll see you soon.”

Before Magnus could reply, she flipped her radio off - she didn't need to hear him right now. She needed to conserve air and think. Maybe it wasn't as bad as she thought.

Moving forward to the door that had slammed shut, she tugged at it with her fingers, testing if it would move. It was heavy, but not stuck. She could prop it open a little, but the weight of it made it difficult to move, even in the water.

So, that was going to be… difficult.

Still, it was the only option she had, so she tugged. Hard. It felt like it took hours of effort to move it far enough to fit through, but then it seemed to move by itself, leaving her enough space to escape - into more black, confusing maze. Maia didn't even know if there was another way out. Were boats like this designed with a second exit, it was there maybe a hole in the side of the vessel somewhere?

Not that it mattered, because as she inhaled, she became vividly aware of how little air she had left. That wasn't going to work anymore, which meant her time to get out was limited. Holding her breath, she surged forward, crashing into a wall blindly.

Maybe there was no other way out. Maybe she'd trapped herself down here, maybe this was it. Curiosity killed the cat, and the marine biologist. Damn, Magnus was going to kill her. Hopefully he’d be able to publish their research anyway though.

Would she get a better grave from beyond the grave? Surely someone had to appreciate her sacrifice.

Just as the dizziness started to hit, she felt something grab her, pulling her to the side. Magnus must have managed to find her then. How he'd managed to get in, Maia had no idea but she guessed it didn't matter as long as they both got out.

But then something started to pull at her gear - her mask and her tank. That didn't make sense, did it? Or maybe it did. Maybe Magnus had a spare line from his. She was too delirious to care. The water hit her face in a rush, but it didn't make much difference to how she felt.

Actually, it did, when she managed to inhale a lungful of salt water.

Before she could do much more, something soft and warm pressed against her lips. That… definitely didn't make sense, her brain said. The spare lines were hard, cold plastic breathers. This was… warm and affectionate, and there were hands slipping around her back, where the tank used to be, camera getting crushed in the middle.

After a moment, water reached her mouth again, and Maia squinted through the gloom, opening her eyes. What she saw made her sure the salt water had made her hallucinate. Because there was a very pretty girl, with toned skin and dark hair, pulling her forward.

She was also very naked. And very sexy. And Maia was very turned on right now, which wasn't really appropriate since she was in the middle of drowning thank you very much and -

Wait. Drowning. She was breathing again. But she was breathing water.

Maybe she'd hit her head too. That sounded more likely. Especially when a glint of red caught the light, and Maia looked down.

Oh. She'd been kissing a mermaid. Of course. How silly of her to think there was anything else going on, like spare tanks and Magnus coming to save her.

Well, at least she'd have one hell of a story to tell Luke when she got home. They could laugh about it over his wife's Chicken Cacciatore, she was sure.

Before she could question anything too much, strong arms were pulling her away, what seemed like deeper into the belly of the beast. There was very little Maia could do about it though, and she was far too confused to protest anyway.

But then, slowly, the gloom seemed to get lighter. Maia looked back at the ship was far behind her, the mermaid swimming along at a pace Maia could only dream of. She wondered how far she would get without the dead weight dragging her down.

Then, all at once, they surfaced, Maia gasping in fresh air, trying not to choke. There was still a little water in her lungs, which promptly came spewing out as she rolled across the rocky surface she'd landed on, salt water pouring out of her.

She was alive. Well, there was a surprise.

Gentle hands moved across her shoulder, and Maia started a little in surprise before eventually looking to the side. And there she was, the mermaid in all her glory. Waves of dark hair rolled down her body, water running off her in a way that Maia absolutely wasn’t tracking with her eyes. The girl still wasn’t wearing a shirt. And she still had a tail. A beautiful, scarlet red one. Which was fine and all, but Maia guessed the fact she could feel the mermaid touching her meant this probably wasn’t a hallucination.

Probably. Which meant she definitely needed to feel a lot worse about being so attracted to her.

“Are you okay?” the mermaid asked, concern evident in her voice. Maia blinked. She spoke English. Well that was… good? The scientist in her was utterly fascinated by the fact. Did mermaids sit and listen to people on the shore to learn language? Had their societies somehow developed along the same path? Surely if there was some sort of great mermaid society they'd have their own customs and languages? It would seem nearly impossible for -

“Hello? Oh, angel, are you really hurt? What can I do to -”

“Uh, yeah. Yeah, I'm fine,” Maia eventually replied, cutting in. She was aware she'd been gawking. But… she'd been rescued by an honest to god mermaid. She was allowed to stare… right?

Although it was probably still a rude gesture, the mermaid didn't seem too bothered. In fact, now that Maia bothered to pay attention to the woman herself, she seemed to be doing quite a bit of staring too.

Not that Maia knew what there was to stare at. Other than the fact her hair was probably a total mess from the water.

“Oh, good,” she replied brightly. “I'm Isabelle.”

She had a name. Maia did her best not to choke. Isabelle. Well, at least she could put a name to the thing that was going to be plaguing all her dreams and fantasies for the next few weeks.

“Maia,” she replied after a long moment, and the mermaid smiled even more widely. Maia hadn't realised that was possible.

“I'm so sorry for what happened down there. I saw you following me and my brother's always telling me about avoiding humans, but then my tail caught the ship and -”

“Wait, that was you?” Maia exclaimed. She'd been chasing a mermaid. Of course, she'd been chasing a mermaid. Come to think of it, mermaids might explain her entire research paper away. She'd love to see what the board said about that.

Isabelle nodded, pushing herself a little further up onto the rocky shore they'd landed on. Maia looked around. It was discrete, not somewhere she recognised, but probably not that far out from the harbour. The cliffs and rocks made it nearly inaccessible around here. They'd be left well alone, no doubt what the mermaid was going for.

Maia would be worried about being eaten alive if she hasn't just been rescued from certain doom. If Isabelle was one of those vicious mermaids, surely she wouldn't have wasted the time and energy bringing her here.

Plus Isabelle had started playing with her hair. Maia swore her chest was going to explode. Sure, it had been a long time since she'd had a date, but this was out of hand. And out of the question. What kind of relationship was she picturing here? One where she put her girlfriend in a tank and wheeled her around the city? Hardly.

Isabelle nodded, still gently untangling some of the knots from Maia’s damp hair. “I thought you knew.”

“No… no. I thought you were a fish,” Maia said deliriously. Isabelle looked up, arching an eyebrow. “Not that you are! You're much prettier than a fish. Not that fish aren't pretty but…” Maia resisted the urge to punch herself as Isabelle giggled.

“You're pretty too, Maia,” she said sincerely, eyes flicking down to her lips. “I very much liked kissing you.”

Maia swallowed. Oh, God, what was she getting herself into? More to the point, why didn't she care what she was getting into?

“That was… incredible,” Maia agreed.

“The kiss of a mermaid is a gift. It stops you silly humans from drowning,” Isabelle murmured softly.

“Have you… kissed many people?” Maia asked, holding her breath, barely aware that she was leaning closer. Isabelle shook her head.

“No. Just you,” she replied, voice low. “You're not like anyone else I've met.”

“I've never met a mermaid before,” Maia replied, and Isabelle smiled.

“No, I don't suppose you have,” Isabelle agreed. Her hand stopped toying with Maia's hair, instead tucking it behind her ear carefully. “I'd very much like to kiss you again.”

Maia nodded slowly. “I'd like that too.”

It seemed that Isabelle didn't believe in wasting time as she leaned in, using her gently grip on Maia's neck to pull her closer. And then she was kissing a mermaid, as well as the prettiest girl Maia had ever seen. The pulse raced, and Maia leaned in, falling into the kiss as Isabelle's lips moved expertly against her own.

It had been a while since Maia's last date, but she swore she'd never been kissed like this before.

“Maia!”

They jumped apart with a start, Isabelle immediately moving to try and get back in the water, but Maia moved faster, grasping her wrist gently. Isabelle was so strong that Maia doubted she could keep her from doing anything, but the mermaid hesitated regardless.

Maia looked over, seeing the figure swimming through the waves, and sighed with relief.

“It's okay. It's my partner,” Maia told Isabelle briefly. Isabelle frowned, and Maia realised her mistake. “Research partner. We work together.”

The concern on Isabelle's face cleared, but still she inched a little closer to the tide, the edge of her fin dipping into the waves. She was nervous. Maia wondered how many humans she had met. From what she'd said about her brother, Maia doubted this was even allowed.

Magnus reached the shore easily, carefully picking his way along the rocks, his attention entirely focused on Maia it seemed. He certainly didn't make any indication he'd seen Isabelle, and Maia could help but wonder if she maybe was delusional.

“Maia, I was so worried. I was starting to make a dive then I saw that the tracker signal from your comm had moved. Which, by the way, you definitely should have kept on, I've been trying to get you for ages. What hap -” Magnus cut himself off and came to an abrupt halt, finally noticing Isabelle, who it seemed was trying to slip away into the water unnoticed. “Is that a mermaid?”

Well, if Magnus could see her too she probably wasn't crazy.

“Magnus, this is Isabelle. She… rescued me.” Maia said briefly, shooting him a look. She'd explain later. Magnus opened his mouth and then sighed, seemingly getting the message. So instead he smiled, taking a seat on the rock at Maia's side.

“Thank you for your efforts, Isabelle. It's lovely to meet you.”

Isabelle seemed a little startled, but eventually she smiled.

“It's nice to meet you too.”

If Magnus was as surprised as Maia was, he did a much better job of hiding it.

“I should really go. My brother will be looking for me,” Isabelle continued on, fully immersing herself into the water, arms resting on the edge of the shore. Maia felt a jolt of panic at the thought of losing this beautiful creature forever.

“How will I find you again?” she blurted out, and Isabelle looked at her in surprise. She seemed to think about it for a moment

“There's a little cove, just along from the harbour. Can you be there at sunset tomorrow?” Maia nodded, trying not to give away her eagerness. “Then I'll meet you there.”

“Okay,” Maia replied softly, a smile on her lips. Isabelle returned the smile, moving just a little closer, lost in each other's eyes. Then there was a large splash nearby, and a voice like thunder.

“Izzy! What the hell is going on?”

“Oh, angel,” Isabelle breathed, before turning around. “Alec! I was just coming to find you.”

“You're talking to humans now? After everything you -”

“I would be too hard on her. She saved my friend here,” Magnus cut in. “I'd be awfully grateful too if someone carried out such a daring rescue for me.” As he spoke, he had his eyes fixed on this new mermaid - Alec, was it? Maia frowned a little, eyes darting between Magnus and Alec. Alec who seemed to be… was he stuttering?

“Izzy,” Alec hissed, refocusing his attention. “You know the humans are bad news.”

“I'd love to prove you wrong,” Magnus murmured, and she could see Alec trying to stay focused.

“Come on. Let's go,” he insisted before diving underneath the waves. Isabelle turned back to them, looking apologetic.

“I'm sorry,” she murmured, and Maia shook her head.

“Don't worry about it,” Maia promised her. “I'll see you tomorrow?” Isabelle nodded, and smiled.

“Bring your brother, will you? I'm sure I can keep him distracted,” Magnus offered, and Isabelle laughed a little.

“You can try. Goodbye,” she said softly, before disappearing under the waves.

With that, Magnus collapsed back on the rocks, sighing dramatically. “I think I'm in love,” he said. Maia smiled. Usually she would have rolled her eyes and told him to stop being dramatic, but instead, she lay back beside him.

“Yeah. Me too.”

Maybe the trip hadn't entirely gone to plan, but Maia couldn't help but feel she'd won something better out of it all.