station72 | [ OPEN ] Hot Springs Episode!

[ OPEN ] Hot Springs Episode!

CHARACTERS: EVERYONE
WHERE: The Second Flight
WHEN: DAY :022
SUMMARY: The Sauna!
WARNINGS: Nekkid times.

[ A few hours after the murder, she hasn't blown the ship up, and here they are. Another knock knock on everyone's brain: ]

( For those of you that are interested - I have secured us a place at the Sauna. Free for us to be use without interruption from outsiders.

You are to be clean before you come in. )

[ Maybe you're here because she bullied you, maybe you want to soak - maybe you're the poor bastard that is standing guard at the door. Either way, welcome to the Suana, have fun. Or don't. ]

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[ He wishes he wouldn't hold any part of himself off limits - but he gets it, and he's not gonna protest. Not when he's got Shiro in his arms, and he can feel Shiro wanting to just relax against him.

It means more than he can say that Shiro's answer is yes - that it's always yes. It's probably not the time to dissect his thing about trust. ]

( Then let me take care of you. )

[ He settles Shiro closer against him and just - carries him through the water like a dork, until he reaches the little rock alcove he'd spotted earlier. He's draped a towel over the opening to provide an extra measure of privacy, and he ducks underneath it. ] ( Think you can relax a little here? )

[He's always trusting Sam. Nothing in their relationship, in any aspect of it, has ever made him feel otherwise. Has ever given him a reason to say anything but yes. Emphatically, gratefully, yes.]

[There's a little shiver. The shirt slicked to his skin offering nothing in the way of warmth -- little ridges of goosebumps on his neck. But he nods. He'll worry about taking care of Sam later. This is clearly important to his partner.]

(You planned this, huh?) [There's amusement in his words. A lot of it. And agreement, too. Yeah, he thinks he can handle this, without many eyes on him.]

( I know the man I fell in love with. )

[ By which he means yes, of course he planned it. And he's teasing, but he does know Shiro, and he's more than willing to try take the extra step to make him comfortable.

He drops down to sit on one of the rock seats at the back of the alcove, settling in without letting go of Shiro and leaving him essentially in his laps.

Then he tugs on the hem of Shiro's shirt. ]

( This is a lot more relaxing without being still being totally dressed, you know. )

[Well, for that, he has no words. Nothing applicable anyway. Hopefully the way his brain sort of melts at that is enough. Leaning his head down to rest against Sam's. Breathy little laugh on the exhale.]

[A breathy little laugh which turns to a nervous sort of one, when they're sat down. Together. And he's very, very glad for the barrier between them and the rest of the pool.]

(I... know. But questions... you know.)

[Sam's already seen. Sam already knows -- what's covering his skin under the shirt.]

[ It's enough. It's more than enough, and it makes Sam grin a little, stealing that second, exhaled laugh with a kiss. ]

( I know. Even good people can be stupid about that. ) [ Shiro's not the only one - Mat'd been out there with a scarf around his neck, until Sam teased him out of it and promised not to ask. ] ( That's another reason why we're here. )

[ So Shiro can actually relax a little, actually enjoy himself without being extremely conscious of the story his scars tell. So Sam can take Shiro out of his head, just for a little while.

He pushes Shiro's shirt up, pulling it over his head and dropping it down on the rocks next to them, out of the water. ]

( Turn around? )

(I... don't think even Pidge or Elena has... that they know.)

[He's sure Pidge knows something of it. She's the closest to him, here. The one who's been like family from the start. Not that he's ever come right out and said, 'by the way'. There's not much reason to.]

[He shakes his head, doing his best to help with the whole, shirt removal thing. Look, he's an adult he's got this.]

[Only to arch an eyebrow, shifting back off Sam's legs to stand in the water, slowly turning.] (Yeah?)

( Unless you're planning on spending a lot of time around them shirtless, there's no rush. You can wait until you're more comfortable. )

[ He strokes his palms up Shiro's back, warmer than usual thanks to the heated water, and leans in to press a kiss between his shoulder blades. ] ( Yeah. Perfect. )

[ You're perfect is the unspoken addition, but he doesn't have to say it when wordless approval and appreciation fills every part of their connection. Sam scoots back on the ledge until his back rest against the rocks, making room for Shiro to sit between his legs. His hands settle on Shiro's hips as he pulls him down - and for a moment he's tempted to keep tugging, to get Shiro's back flush against his chest and wrap his arms around him, tilt his head back against his shoulder for easy access to kiss him whenever he wants -

But maybe later. He's got a plan, and instead he leaves space between them so he can put his hands on Shiro's shoulders. His thumbs press in at the base of Shiro's neck, starting on working out the knot of tension he knows Shiro holds there. ]

(Not... if I can help it. I don't think Elena needs more trauma. Or Pidge.)

[That last bit is a joke. He doesn't bother elaborating on it, though, because he trusts Sam's going to know. Instead he just lets himself shudder at the contact. Swallowing a little heavily.]

[Because this is... yeah. He's really glad for the privacy here. And for a long moment, he's half convinced this is going to be something more than PG-13. He can feel that want. Something in him wants it, too. But that something doesn't get a say right now.]

[He leans back. Following suggestion, and...]

[And his knees almost give out under him. Because oh.]

[Oh, that's... good.]

[ And it's so like Shiro to want to protect them from that. Sam doesn't necessarily agree that either of them would want Shiro to protect them from that, to not share because he didn't want to lean on them - but he gets it. And he's grateful that, even if he has to remind him sometimes, Shiro will lean on him.

He doesn't say anything, because it was a joke, and Sam knows it. And he's much more interested then bringing Shiro out of his head and giving him some space to relax than anything else.

Which means he might not be planning anything above PG-13, but he's not gonna stop it, either.

There's a soft, fond chuckle at Shiro's reaction, and he puts a little pressure on his shoulders - a gentle but insistent instruction to sit.

Then he gets back to work, focusing on Shiro's neck and shoulders - slow, methodical, working out every knot and lingering over his scars, pressing in and firm strokes mixed with soft touches and barely there grades of fingertips.

His palms rest flat on Shiro's shoulder blades before he starts to move down his back, mind curling around his in a wordless check in. ]

[No, they wouldn't want that. But he isn't going to think along those lines. It's almost not possible -- almost. If they came out and told him, it'd be different.]

[But right now? Right now, there's not a whole lot of room in his head for anything but how those hands feel. For how Sam's hands feel. Sam could instruct him to turn around on one foot and he'd do it. Just to keep feeling like this. So yes, he sits.]

[More like sags, really.]

[Honestly, he'd forgotten what something like this feels like. What feeling relaxed was like. Everything has been wound too tense for so long, it would be again, and again. What did relaxation even feel like?]

[The check in is met with wordless appreciation. It's almost half-asleep. Incredibly enough.]

[ Sam can feel the way Shiro's mind starts to clear, as his focus blurs and it almost feels like Shiro's floating, and he lets himself have a moment to just enjoy that before he continues. ]

(That's it, just let go. ) [ Sam knows Shiro's boundaries and he won't push them, not right now - and he makes the impression clear as he presses a kiss to the back of Shiro's neck. ] ( You're so good, sweetheart, let me have this. )

[ When he’s finally finished working out the knots in Shiro’s back, Sam wraps one arm around Shiro's chest and gets the other hand in his hair, pulling him in and guiding him to rest his head back on Sam's shoulder, until Sam's chest is pressed flush against his back. ]

( Get some rest, Shiro. I got you. )

[He might really be floating, for all he feels connected to reality right now. Floating in the pool, floating in zero gravity. Surrounded by stars or liquid, he can't tell. Doesn't want to tell.]

[In all honesty, it's hard to remember the last time he felt this way. Maybe... maybe the first time it was clear they'd made it. They were free of the atmosphere. They'd done it, at last.]

[Drifting.]

[Sam's voice pulls him in. Pulls him back out of a distant memory. Enough to where he can press his face to his neck.]

[He loves this.]

(You're ... really going to sit there? If I crash?)

[You're really going to catch me if I crash. Aren't you.]

[ There’s a soft hum over their connection - intentional this time, not the usual faint hum of the symbiote. An echo of him humming out loud, some soothing, absent tune that probably belongs to a song, although Sam couldn’t have said which one.

When Shiro shifts back into focus, just a little, Sam smiles at the way he presses his face into his neck. ]

( Of course I am. )

[ I’ll always catch you.

His fingers card through Shiro’s wet hair, gentle, as he settles his arm securely over Shiro’s stomach. ] ( Go to sleep, love. )

[Well that just does him in. Not as if it were hard. It's been way too long since he crashed into sleep like this. Too many days -- running ragged for the purpose of not thinking. Not dwelling, when his brain wanted nothing more than to replay those images over and over again.]

[But all that feels far away.]

[It feels completely secondary to warm water and security. To the sensation of weightlessness, and memories of countless stars slowly turning.]

[He exhales. Slow. Steady.]

(Done.)

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[ OPEN ] Hot Springs Episode!

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