Speak of the Sea [Hankcon AU] (Sequel)

quattuor; i walk the hill

He only really saw Hank in the evenings now, which was fine, but it meant he was spending days alone. There's only so much you can do in a village in the middle of nowhere.

He decided to go out and explore the town centre of this place, Pittenweem, all by himself. It was a harbour town, but he'd stayed clear of that so far. He'd stolen a jacket from Hank, which kept him cosy but also calm; the smell of his cologne was always reassuring to him.

But life was about taking risks, and he'd taken a huge risk coming all the way here with Hank, but he didn't need him all the time, did he?

It was quiet but it was cute, it was like he was in a postcard. He walked past people having morning tea in the local café, and people heading about their days. He got caught up, however, looking at a window display in one of the shops.

It was all about dolphin sightseeing tours in a neighbouring town, and from all the photos, it looked quite amusing to take part in, but it wasn't for him.

He'd seen many dolphins in his time.

He ended up at the harbour, passing local fishermen getting ready for the day. For a Thursday, it was quiet, but then again, it was a small place. He figured not much really happened here, and people just got on with their lives. He liked that about it.

He stood at the end of one of the piers, looking back at the boats and the town, and had a small smile on his face. He'd never seen a place like this before, and was appreciative to be here.

His smile soon disappeared when he felt droplets on his hands, realising quickly that it had started to rain. Hank had warned him about the bad weather patterns, but he'd been careful...

Until now, apparently.

He looked around in a panic, but had no choice but to just jump off the pier he was on into the seawater below. 

It wasn't like the warm, tolerable waters back home. It was ice cold, and he was pretty sure he was shivering under the surface, if that was even possible. He surfaced not too far away behind some rocks, looking back at the now smaller-looking town. The mix of the water with the cold air was not as helpful...

"Well, swimming in Scotland is a no-go, apparently..." He mumbled to himself, letting out a quiet sigh before disappearing underwater again.

He did decide to go and see what the depths offered, and saw some interesting sea plants and some fish... but he was back on land soon enough, managing to be unnoticed... At least, he assumed that.

It thankfully wasn't raining. He was passing through the harbour to make his way back to the house, when he was stopped by a fisherman.

"---Are ye alright, son?"

He looked at him momentarily, a little confused. His accent was a thick Scottish one, but he could kind of understand him.

"---Yes, sir. Why do you ask?"

He smiled a little at him out of nervousness, but it wasn't exactly reciprocated.

"---I saw ye divin' off that pier over there, you'd have to be a mad man tae jump into that, let me tell ye. It's bloody baltic the day!" 

Connor stared in confusion, deciding he couldn't really understand him at all.

"Yer no wet? Wouldn't you be cauld and wet?" The fisherman asked, looking back at him. "And yer American. This is no Florida holiday here, son. It's cauld and ye cannae go about jumping in the water near the harbour, boats come and go aw the time, I heed ye warned."

He was walked past soon after, and wondered whether or not he should start learning the Scots dialects...

____________

He came home to realise Hank was back early, surprised to find him upstairs. "What are you doing back so early?" He smiled at him, being looked back at. "Oh, hey. I was wondering where you were." Hank chuckled softly, going over and hugging him tight.

"I was out exploring." Connor looked up at him, noticing his expression. "You're freezing, Connor. How long were you out for?" Hank asked, and he thought about it.

He didn't realise that it had started to get dark, but then again, it was the winter months. He left here around 11am this morning, but noticing the clock, it was almost 4pm. How long had he been underwater for?

"It started to rain when I was out, so I had to jump off a pier, and I---" He was going to explain, but was cut off swiftly.

"---You went into the water? Connor, it's so cold! I---I can't even think about what temperature it could've been, but you can't do that. You'll end up getting sick," Hank warned him, looking worried.

"What other choice did I have? I was near the harbour, a bunch of fishermen could've seen me," Connor stood up for himself, but remembered the one guy who did see him. "---Actually, there was this one man who stopped me because he saw me jump in... I didn't really understand what he was saying, though..." He mumbled, Hank just staring at him.

"So, someone did see you? I thought you were so adamant to keep this whole fish thing a secret?" He asked, his partner gasping. "Fish thing? Is that what you're calling it? I don't know if you realise, but this is my life! I can't just get rid of that side of me," He said, Hank just shaking his head.

"I didn't mean it like that. Look, I just thought you'd be more careful." He replied, Connor folding his arms. "I can't predict the weather," He mumbled, just being hugged again.

"It's fine. No one saw you like that. You're home now." Hank spoke in a softer tone, then started to hum a tune as he held him in his arms.

"I love you, you know that, right?"

"Of course I do... I love you too."

"I'm happy to hear that. I just want you to be safe, okay?"

"Okay."

He went over their brief "argument" in his head as they shared that moment, and wondered -- 5 months in to all of this with him -- if things weren't as tranquil as he first assumed...