ercookies | TDM 003

Entry tags:

!tdm

TDM 003

TDM 003: #BEACHBUMS

I. BEACH

Welcome arrivals, new and old! The skies on Erku may be perpetually gray, but the weather has taken a sudden turn to summertime heat. Fortunately, soaring temperatures have chased away more of the strange fog that conceals so much of the island, unveiling a charming, sandy cove dotted here and there with rustic love shacks. These shabby little lean-tos are dusty and sparse, but they provide everything one (or two, wink wink) might need for a little relief from the sun. Just don’t wander too far... that fog has memory-loss properties.

II. DRINKS

The 'bots are very apologetic about the whole fog incident, and they are trying to get on the new arrivals' good sides by giving out fancy drinks. Of course, they still haven't mastered the art of making things properly, so each drink has a little something... extra.

Geloso: Has a slightly bitter, yet refreshing herbal taste... and it will make you feel inexplicably envious of virtually anything, to a petty degree! Be it someone else’s shoes or their incredibly muscular physique, you’re jealous enough to tell them about it!
Colpito: Fruity and sweet like candy. If you drink this, you will feel hopelessly infatuated with the very next person who catches your eye!
Vivace: Delightfully tart, with a flavor somewhere between citrus and raspberry. This summery drink will fill you with bubbly energy. Whether you’re feeling flirty or just mischievous and playful, you’ve never felt more alive!
Verace: Creamy, earthy, and a little nutty - the flavor is hard to describe, but delicious. After drinking this, you’ll feel strangely compelled to spill something you’ve been keeping a secret, no matter how incriminating or embarrassing.
Conoscere: The robots are especially excited about this flavor! They’ve heard organic beings enjoy chocolate, and hope you like their first attempt (it’s a little bitter, but it is chocolatey). Those who drink this will feel incredibly confident and sensual. Better yet, if you share it with a partner - which the 'bots encourage you to do - you’ll find that every touch is enhanced, and every sensation is shared between the two of you. A lucky few may even be able to sense one another’s thoughts!

III. SNACKS

Lo! As you ask, the Augur shall provide. Thanks to the efforts of your organic predecessors in restoring the planet’s Eros energy, edible fishes and seaweeds have returned to the ponds and the shores of Erku. If you fancy yourself savvy to basic survival skills, why not fashion up a fishing rod and catch yourself dinner? Just be careful if you happen to hook one of the octopus creatures from the deeper waters - they can be quite forward with their tentacles!

Or, if primitive angling isn’t in your repertoire, you can always trade some credits for a tasty catch from one of the food stalls along the coast. Most stalls are manned by 'bots, but there’s nothing stopping an enterprising arrival from setting up shop. No credits? No problem! The robots have also provided a bit of entertainment, and any volunteers to man the kissing booth, get dunked in the wet t-shirt dunk tank, or grill up some fish - among other opportunities - will find credits automatically loaded onto the payment app of their bracelet devices. The 'bots are recruiting especially hard for participants to work in the gloryhole tent!

IV. SPARKLES

As dusk descends, the white sands of the beach suddenly come alive with glittering lights. It’s as if the darkened waters have carried a thousand shining stars from the depths of the sea to the shores of the cove. In actuality, each little twinkle is a bioluminescent plankton or jellyfish! Feel free to wade among them and admire their shine; even the sting of the jellies won’t hurt you... though they do pack a different punch. The tentacles of the jellyfish elicit a powerful aphrodisiac response, which gets the heart racing and the blood pumping for an intimate touch. The effects come on within a matter of minutes, and last for a few hours. Only time will relieve the symptoms, but a partner will help to make it more bearable.

● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

N A V I G A T I O N

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Yeah," Duo agrees after a moment, digging his toes into the sand after extracting his feet from his sandals.

"Earth's beautiful, don't get me wrong... I don't like the fake skies or the endless metal walls. Some colonists, though, that's all they've known. And those are the people I want to help make the colonies better for... maybe in a couple hundred years, there'll be trees that weren't placed down carefully for aesthetic reasons or whatever."

The terraforming project that the Preventers were involved in, for example, was of some interest to him. He shrugs after a moment.

"Also, dunno if you noticed, but it seems I'm kind of allergic to dust."

Some part of Heero has to admire Duo for still feeling so magnanimous towards the colonists, and some of that shows in the softness of his expression as he listens. He supposes it makes sense. Duo grew up in those slums, after all, and suffered right alongside the poor children of L2. Heero, on the other hand, had been lured right off the streets of L1 and into the nascent Operation Meteor before he truly knew the meaning of living like a street orphan.

Neither Space nor the colonies held any sacred meaning for Heero, except as a place where peace had been snatched away and war and oppression unjustly shoved in its place. In contrast, Duo's more genuine motivations for helping the colonists felt pure and real. It reminded him of Relena, who fought for peace simply because she believed in it.

He wants to say that Duo could call on him for anything, except - what does it matter here? The colonies are a long way off. Here they have sand, and a sunset, and... a dusty apartment.

"Oh."

Heero had not noticed that. That does explain why Duo had been so intent on dusting him off, though. He scowls slightly to himself, silently berating himself for having missed that detail while he leans over to place his skewers on the little pile Duo's made.

"I'll clean."

They'll need cleaning supplies, but he'll figure it out.

He knows Heero's heart is probably on Earth, if he considers this line of questioning. He actually finds it admirable, his dedication to what is essentially their ancestral home.

Ultimately, though, he doesn't want the idea of Earth versus the colonies to endure. Both of them need to work together for the future - and hopefully that's what they're working towards.

Heero's sudden chagrin (almost unnoticeable for most people) has Duo's smile going a little crooked.

"This dust doesn't bother me too much, it's fine. Anyway, we're out here to enjoy the sunset, not worry about cleaning, right?"

"...mm."

Duo's right; the state of the apartment isn't something to mull over right now. Heero still intends to clean, because at least it's an easily defined task that has a clear objective: making sure the both of them can function at their best. It makes obvious sense in a way precious few things have, as of late.

Besides, once Heero Yuy puts himself on a mission there's no one in the ESUN who can stop him. Why wouldn't that be true on Erku, too?

He throws his emptied skewers onto the pile alongside Duo's, looking again out to the darkening ocean as the sky turns darker shades of pink and purple.

"Have you gone swimming in the ocean?"

Edited 2020-08-04 02:03 (UTC)

He knows that expression well. That means that Duo is going return back at one point and the apartment is going to be, most likely, spotless. It's probably the easiest, most clear task he could have offered.

It wasn't meant to be one, but he appreciates that Heero takes it so seriously - if only because it's one of the few things that they can actually manage to do.

He nudges his knee against Heero's in silent thanks before the other teen speaks, making Duo look over the ocean.

"A couple of times, mostly out of necessity." He thinks back to finding Wing under the water, how complicated such an easy salvage mission got. "Why, you thinkin' about it?"

And as he turns to look at Heero, he misses the start of the ocean slowly beginning to light up from the inside out, plankton beginning their drift towards the shore.

Already leaning down to unlace his boots, Heero glances back to Duo, a faint smile on his face. He silently gestures with a jerk of his chin towards the glowing shoreline, as if to say 'see?' It isn't as if he already knew the coast would light up like this, but he does have sharper senses than most. He probably saw them from further out, even with dusk just beginning to fall.

Shoes and socks taken care of, Heero rises from their little driftwood bench and heads for the waves without another word.

Obviously, that was an invitation.

"What the fuck?"

That's Duo's very polite and succinct response to seeing the plankton start lighting up. He gapes a little, surprised, because while it's strange it's also oddly gorgeous as the glow creeps in... a lot like nature back on Earth.

Duo looks over to Heero in time to see him get his boots and socks off and start heading in. Duo scrambles to pull his feet out from where he'd tucked them under warm sand. His hair might still be wet, but he quickly twists it up - he's not getting it more wet if he can help it.

But honestly, he's weirdly excited to see what Heero will do in the waves. The only memory he has of him in the water is face down after blowing both their Gundams up.

He trots after Heero, at a far lazier pace.

Heero has some commentary on how interesting it is for life on this planet to have adapted so parallel to the organisms they know from Earth in response to the universal pressure to survive. He keeps it to himself, for now. It seems more important to simply appreciate the spectacle for what it is: something beautiful, for once, on this desolate island.

He has the option of throwing aside his jeans for his boxers, but he doesn't, just wading out into the shallow waves while the glowing plankton ripple along the surface. They shine even brighter where they're disturbed.

Cupping his hands in the water, Heero is surprised to find that he's caught what looks like a tiny, sparkling jellyfish. This is a creature that differs from what he knows exists on Earth. He looks back to Duo, whom he knows will be following not far behind.

"Look."

He just walks straight into the water in his jeans. There's a fond burst of exasperation that manifests in a sigh from Duo, as he follows Heero into the water.

It's cool, a nice contrast to the heat, and Duo comes up alongside Heero, making plankton drift away from him. When Heero calls for his attention, Duo gives it instantly, though his reaction is worry.

"Dude, is that a jellyfish? Those things sting!"

He doesn't make Heero put it down, but he has a lot of concern. Though that's overridden after a moment.

"Is - is it glowing?"

"Not all of them."

Heero had spent the year between the first Eve War and Relena's abduction mainly on Earth, maybe running, but he liked to think of it as broadening his perspective beyond the confining walls of his colony on L1. He knew what it was like to float on his back in the Dead Sea, or to hike down to the bottom of the deepest canyon and wash away days of sweat and dirt in the hidden waterfalls beneath.

He knew a jellyfish sting that felt like a gunshot.

He'd still never seen anything like the gently twinkling little creature cupped in his hands. Strange that he'd spent so long searching for something, only to find it right here in the incredulous look on Duo's face when they both discovered something delightfully new.

"They look like the Milky Way," Heero said after a moment, quietly as he released the little guy back into the water to light up the dark sea.

More jellyfish brush up against Duo; he's too focused on the one in Heero's hand to register them, and their barely-there stings aren't felt in the chill of the water.

The creature in Heero's hand indeed doesn't look anything like the stinging jellyfish he'd often heard of, and he watches Heero release it back into the water.

"It's like we're standing in a sea of stars," he agrees after a moment, his voice soft. And, oddly, that's the best part - it's something distinctly terrestrial that's mimicking the endless stars that Duo fell in love with the first time he saw them. Duo takes a step further into the water, plankton and jellyfish drifting around him. The delighted curiosity on his face is illuminated by their glow.

For a moment Heero only stands and watches Duo admire the constellation of tiny sea creatures at their feet, something akin to a quiet fondness on his face. It isn't something he dares to say aloud, and he wouldn't have the words for it even if he wanted to.

He waits until Duo wades in further, until he's close enough to touch. Then Heero abruptly wraps both arms around the other boy's slender waist and pulls them both right down into the deeper water, with a splash of glowing blue.

It is beautiful and serene, and Duo is completely unsuspecting. Right until the hairs on the back of his neck raise in his personal Heero Yuy Is Being A Little Shit^TM alert system. By then, though, Heero's arms are around his waist, and they both go down into the water, Duo's arms flailing ineffectively at the sky.

It's shallow enough that they're not underwater, but Duo still gets wet head to toe, bits of glowing creatures stuck to one of his cheeks. He curses, planting a hand underwater and sitting up.

"Heero, what the fuck."

One can probably count on their hands the number of times Heero Yuy has laughed out loud. Fewer still when it wasn't some kind of frightening, adrenaline-fueled manic episode. His laugh this time is gentler, more subdued as Duo glowers at him, the both of them smudged here and there in luminescent plankton. The jellies have wisely vacated the premises at the disturbance.

Heero reaches out to wipe Duo's cheek with his thumb, which only smears further glowing bits on his skin.

Heero Yuy is a jerk and a bastard. But, Duo's glower softens a little when Heero starts laughing - because it's the first time he's heard it without that edge of mania he knows to watch out for. Surprise flickers across his face, along with something a little more fond.

He reaches up when Heero wipes down his cheek, catching his hand and pushing it back down into the water, palm to palm, if Heero allows him to.

"What, you gonna make a sand angel down there?" He asks, his tone wry as he leans over Heero. He's trying not to think too hard about how Heero looks like this, with bits of light stuck to his skin and the setting sun reflecting in his eyes, water and sand clinging to his skin. Duo feels something catch in his throat, and he swallows, cheeks burning a little.

For all out there in the ESUN who sing his praises, Heero never claimed to be anything other than a menace to society. And yet, there is definitely something softer in the ocean blue of his eyes as he looks up Duo against the lavender-hued backdrop of the nearly set sun, with their fingers intertwined. He likes the way Duo's lips have twisted into wry smirk, teasing him in a way that no one else dares. He likes the rosy flush on Duo's cheeks, too.

"The sky matches your eyes," Heero observes, which doesn't answer Duo's question at all.

He props himself up on an elbow, tugging Duo's hand along with him. His other hand reaches out, finding the back of the other boy's head and pulling him in closer while Heero rises, until they're near enough that Heero can finally press their lips together.

Heero doesn't question why, all the sudden, he wants nothing more than to kiss Duo Maxwell. He just does it.

There's a part of Duo that's always held the fact that he and one other person, a certain ambassador, know what Heero can really be like, close to his heart. Not quite like a secret weapon, but like a favorite memory, something to think about when you're having a difficult time.

Heero's comment about his eyes, he'd normally call a deflection - but it feels different, with Heero looking up at him, laying in the water.

Why becomes readily apparent when Heero tugs his hand, making Duo lean in a little bit more. Or maybe that's Heero's hand on the back of his head; or the fact that he can recognize someone going in for a kiss and wants to as well.

He presses his lips against Heero's when the other boy does, letting his eyes fall closed. Like before, there's nothing that feels strange about it, other than the sharp spike of desire in his chest when he does it. He shifts closer, knees moving over Heero's so he's between his legs instead of alongside him.

Heero has learned a few things at the library since his arrival, but for the most part it's instinct that guides his hand to Duo's back as Duo closes in, pulling the other boy between his knees and further into the beginnings of what doesn't quite yet register as their first real kiss. There might be a clumsy bumping of teeth, but Heero still sighs softly and goes in for another, longer and bolder now that he's certain Duo wants this, too.

The only thing strange for Heero is the thought that on Earth, he had never given much thought to things like this. Connecting with people with this level of intimacy had seemed a distant impossibility, but here? It was like every touch he shared with Duo effortlessly sparked some craving for more within him.

Already he can feel that telling warmth curling in his gut, swelling in his jeans. This time, at least, it doesn't make him freeze up.

They might both be clumsy, but there's something nice about it regardless. Even if Duo murmurs a teasing ow into the kiss, but it's clear enough he's joking, if the way he surges to meet Heero for the second is any indication, as eager as ever.

Perhaps unfairly, he compares this to his experience with Elle earlier. He'd been nervous with her, and he wouldn't say he wasn't nervous with Heero - but it was a different kind, the specifics of which he couldn't define even to himself. The idea of touching Elle hadn't made him quite as lightheaded or excited.

With Heero, the anxiety is never present in the moment, the fear of letting someone in enough to see him in an intimate manner. He's already seen some of the worst of Heero, and Heero has seen the same.

So, boldly enough, he moves to press against Heero, shoulder to waist, craving the close contact in the cooler water.

The heat of Duo's body seems like a searing contrast to the cool of the ocean water, or maybe that's just how Heero feels in the moment, hyper-conscious of every little brush of the other boy's lean form against his. He doesn't realize that it's the jellyfish sting that makes every inch of his skin tingle at the slightest touch - to him, he's only acting on an urge with someone he trusts, someone he knows will reciprocate. And if not, then Duo is fully capable of telling Heero what he wants.

He feels the shape of the teasing grin on Duo's lips before he reclaims them, already bolder and a little more aware of what to do. He senses the eagerness and the sheer lack of hesitation they have with each other, and it only encourages Heero to push at the boundaries they're still (not-so-slowly) establishing. The thought has barely entered his mind before Heero is already surging up, a leg hooking around Duo's waist to roll them until it's Duo's back against the sand and Heero straddling his hips.

He gives a little noise of surprise when Heero rolls them over, landing back-down in the water again. But even his previous irritation about wet hair doesn't get voiced with the sight of Heero straddling his hips and looking down at him. To an outsider, he might have the same expression he always does, but Duo can see the smugness in his eyes.

Their positions being reversed doesn't stop him from sitting up to press a kiss to Heero's neck this time, his other hand coming to bunch up in the wet fabric of Heero's shirt.

He doesn't realize this is the result of the sting. He trusted Heero's word, somehow, on an alien jellyfish, and ... it's not as if it has really done anything other than amplify what he has already been feeling, on and off.

Heero exhales a heady sigh when Duo's lips meet his neck, a little surprised at how the feeling immediately sends a subtle shiver down his spine. He'd known on an intellectual level that some areas would be more sensitive than most, but perhaps hadn't expected it to feel even better than trading kisses on the lips. His eyes flutter closed, his head tilting aside to give Duo the room to explore while he presses light kisses beside Duo's ear in return, wherever he can reach.

Duo's fingers twisting into the wet fabric of his tank only sends another wave of want through him. Heero is glad, in a way, that the sensation is already familiar to him - it feels less imperative to immediately take care of that rapidly budding arousal than it did the first time. Heero feels a little more freedom to experiment, to slip his hands beneath Duo's clinging t-shirt and push it out of the way so he can appreciate the lean muscle beneath his palms.

Heero sighs, and Duo goes a step further, setting his teeth lightly against the skin of Heero's neck, and sucking, tongue rubbing against skin salty from the ocean. When he pulls back the skin is darkened, blood pulled to the surface, and it strikes a satisfied chord in his brain to see it.

He gives a soft noise when Heero's hand press up under his shirt. Last time they had done this in the dark, but now he can see every part of Heero in detail. He likes being able to see him, and he mirrors the movement, slipping his hands under his shirt and up his chest.

And finally speaks. "Good lord, you make the rest of us look like slobs."

The rest of us. An unintentional reference to the pilots, the others of whom aren't here, but a sure sign that Duo's considered Heero's physique before.

Edited 2020-08-23 00:21 (UTC)

There's a small, encouraging noise from deep in Heero's throat as Duo sucks at his skin, his breath shaking slightly from the newness and the intensity of that particular sensation. It's enough to make him squirm just slightly, his hips rocking against Duo's as pushes up that clinging white t-shirt and exposes more of that pale skin. It's strange how hot his body feels despite the chill of ocean water evaporating off his skin and clothes. He wonders if Duo feels the same, or if Heero is only imagining the heat from the other boy's skin as his palms skim along Duo's back.

At first, Heero says nothing in response to Duo's praise - answering with just a glance of blue eyes that quickly skirt away again. It isn't as if he did anything to earn this body, he thinks. It was something that was forced on him, just like his training.

But then, it isn't a bad thing if Duo finds him attractive.

Heero's head dips, and he shifts back until he can press his lips to the bared skin of Duo's chest. Then, quiet but earnest, "I like your body more."

There's a reason Duo can't keep his hands off Heero, and it only partially has to do with jellyfish. He can't actually see his chest like this right now - but he can press his warm hands against it, fingers spread over his pecs.

Then Heero says he likes his body more, which gets Duo's cheeks turning red - more red than the rocking against his erection had.

"I mean... okay, yeah."

Duo's just some skinny kid from L2. Heero may not be god tier status, but he feels like of the two of them, someone lucked out more. Duo doesn't hate how he looks by any stretch of the imagination. But he knows he's a little short, a little skinnier, that his ribs show too easily when he's not getting enough to eat.

But Heero said he likes him, and Duo's not about to tell him no. Seeking to distract from that line of thought, Duo looks down at Heero instead.

TDM 003

the only other frozen teardrop thing i'll touch on

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

i wasn't going to boomerang this back but then He Did That

no subject

no subject

gay

seal voice: gaaaaay

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

my desire to not give duo body issues vs. this

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)