The sunlight hits the water and refracts, dancing over waves of aquamarine and turquoise. In the surf, seagulls play and quarrel, shrill cries diffused by the waters on the sandy beach, the palms leading up to the villa. Tiernan rolls over onto his belly, letting the sunlight fall onto his back. The crescent pockmarks shimmer dull grey in the late morning light.
     I want ... bacon...
     The thought percolates through his brain until it reaches his nose, and he opens his eyes dozily. Shifting, he groans and rolls onto his back, then sits up by gradual degrees. "...Breakfast," he mumbles, sliding his legs over the edge of the bed and pushing up. As he does so, more details filter in until he realizes - this isn't home. Fuzzily, he rubs at his eyes.
     I am too old... Tiernan climbs to his feet, stumbling in the direction of where he hopes sanitation might lay. "Breakfast?" he adds, a little more loudly, in a querulous, hopeful voice.

     He lies upon his back, his arms and legs this way and that, spread to capture each and every droplet of the sun as if it were liquid gold. His blue hair lies unbound and unbraided over his shoulders and partially covering one eye, and his sun-warmed, water-smoothed form, strong and beautiful, is bare. Agapios smiles as the bed shifts and he opens his eyes to look at you as you rise, ungracefully graceful.
     "We have oysters, fruit, and there is pork I believe, roasted. I will have Nino bring it to us." Nino, the Valet's valet. Agapios rises from the bed, stretching the stiffness and soreness from his muscles as he moves. He pauses beside you, his arms wrapping around your waist and he whispers good morning to your ear before he draws away, his hand sliding against your skin.
     "And to drink...water...and tea," he says to himself as he crosses, naked, to the door. Yes, he will speak to Nino this way. He has seldom been clothed since your arrival. Why change now?

     He blushes - how can he not, when you look that way, when you are so naked? And moreover, so close? He averts his eyes politely, even as you brush against him, and he murmurs, "I am just going to wash, before we eat."
     Despite it, his hand reaches for yours before you draw entirely away; a brief squeeze, a release, and he flees.
     Nature must be answered, after all; once that's done and he's washed himself off, he returns to the bedroom to begin looking for his clothes. Tiernan murmurs, "I have a suspicion that you have our itinerary for the day already well-planned. Will you share it with me? And where are my trousers?" The sunlight glints off the silver in his hair as he looks around, sleep not quite banished from his eyes.

     There is the placid smile you have come to know (and, yes, to love). It gives away nothing and suggests everything. As you are returning, the food is being laid out upon the low table in the sitting area.
     Every chamber has its own pool -- some are larger, some smaller. The master bedroom boasts a large circular pool with floating petals upon aquamarine water. Around it, cushions are gathered and positioned to provide comfort at every station. Near that, a casual seating area with low tables made of silver shells, surrounded by wide, comfortable cushions. It is there that the food is laid out for you; it is there that the water and tea are poured for your pleasure by his hands.
     The slender (and lovely) figure that is Nino quickly and quietly departs.
     "I have no plans but to relax... and swim... and eat...and make you happy. What other plans could I possibly have?" Agapios smiles to you as he sets the pitcher of water aside. He doesn't take food immediately. He waves for you to go ahead as he glides into the pool, his graceful steps leading him deeper and deeper until he is waist deep. He submerges completely to rise a dropleted wonder, his hair even more brilliant. Agapios smiles as he leans against the body of the pool, his arms folding at the lip of marble. "Your trousers are folded. Though I do not think you will need them..."

     "You have plans," Tiernan answers, resignedly. He moves to look for his trousers all the same. He is just more comfortable when he has his trousers. But their being folded does not mean they immediately appear, and he gropes for them myopically until he hits the edge of the bed, then shrugs.
     Perhaps a swim, after all, is in order...
     Tiernan moves to take some of the pork - he was dreaming of bacon, and therefore it must have been presaged. He enters the water only to his midriff, chewing sententiously with a far-off look in his eyes.

     He smiles. Your seriousness tickles him. Even on vacation, you cannot truly escape. Agapios merely... leaves the door open for you as he passes. You will walk through eventually on your own. In your own terms. On your own schedule. He will enjoy it either way.
     "I have no plans but what I've stated," he quietly, too quietly, insists and he slips beneath the skin of the water, submerging himself. The pool is grand, and on one side it is quite deep. It is, in fact, a floor and a half, giving him plenty of room to actually swim, and turn around, and even... if he is feeling adventurous... make a somersault.
     Beneath the aquamarine waters, the merman swims, dolphin and male form perfectly harmonized. The soft porpoise skin slides against your legs before the water parts and crashes in his re-emergence. In the shallows where you stand, he props himself upon his tail fin just so he can be eye-level to you. "Your enjoyment, Tiernan. Relaxation, delight, and love. Those are all the plans I have. I'm not much of a planner as you know. If I were, I'd have asked Nino to bring me tuna rolls for lunch."
     He turns his head, his body, so that his mouth may glance your ear. "I leave all plans to you, dear Prince. It is your holiday, after all." He lets you eat. He does not ask what's on your mind. He knows that the answer, whatever it is, will boil down to too much. His hands rest at your hips, balancing you as he slips the great tail between your legs. Dolphins were ever good thieves -- if a bit playful. What they lack in stealth they make up for in panache. Quicker than you can lift a complaint or protest, you are balanced on his tail section, straddling the strength that propels you both slowly around the pool, held balanced and secure by his own hands as he lies back, floating away with you. Agapios smiles.
     Okay, so he lied. He had a little bit of a plan.

     He follows you, but only partway, only as far as he is still on his feet. He eats what is in his hands and finishes, washing off his fingers and looks for you with the quiet admiration of how perfect your design. You were made for this, and the way you move, the ease with which you move through the water never fails to instill awe in him.
     Tiernan smiles at you, reddening a bit and then a lot as his eyes widen in startlement as you steal him so suddenly. You are one of the rare people who can see him blush, bringing that state upon him. "You are a worse thief than my king's brother," he tells you, his hands bracing a moment on your hips. He shakes his head ruefully. What will he do with you.
     What will you do with him, more like...

     A blush and a smile is all he requires...
     "That is what I wanted to see," Agapios murmurs as he drifts back, his arms rippling through the water, his great fluke gently fanning through the water, lifting you up and down. It is a gentle, rocking motion, both beautiful and sensual. "You were being entirely too serious, Tiernan. And you know how I feel about that."
     He is not a very serious creature. Except, of course, when he is.
     You circle the pool, carried like Orpheus. Your hands at his hips can feel the motion that swimming requires, even the slightest motion, the smoothest glide. "I will take that as a compliment, however, as the King's brother is a most accomplished thief. But you know, I am more of a borrower than a thief. I have a horrible habit of giving things back."
     Like you.
     He smiles with those oceanic eyes, the siren's mouth copping to his own humor. "You should smile more," Agapios notes casually. He kicks his fluke for a moment of terrific grace and agility, the soft and strong dolphin flesh bucking you up and down in the motion. "Your face will not break and you will not miss some important meeting because you took time to relax, to fortify yourself, to spend time with a friend and companion. You are thinking, always thinking." It is almost a chiding! "Sometimes, it is best to let the mind float aimless on the sea and let the body and the spirit have a little fun. You do remember fun don't you?"

     "I enjoy my thoughts," Tiernan protests in mild tones. He leans forward to touch your cheek with the back of his hand, straightening in the security of knowing you will not drop him; you will not let him drown. "If I do not think, I accomplish little. And I do not have the luxury of a thousand years, Agapios. What I wish to do, I must achieve in shorter years."
     He does smile at you. "Fun is in the mind of the individual," he reminds you gently. "You have never seen me in my workshops..."

     "That is true," Agapios notes with a true smile. "I should like to." It is something that is mentioned, and with that the topic is broached. It is pushed to you like a floating lily on this very pool. Nothing more is said. Nothing more is requested or teased from you.
     A playfulness sparks in the dolphin's eyes, something of sunlight on the water, the world's wink to the universe. As his fluke moves between your legs, Agapios arches upward, the fluke and tail moving quickly to balance you both. He looks at you a moment as you and he splash around, and he smiles. "I would like to. I think you should make a dolphin with aquamarine eyes. I will pose for you if you like."
     The seriousness could not last for long. It is simply not his nature. His mouth pulls at yours, oxygen bubbling against your skin in fizzy wonder, and with a kiss he pulls you under.
     But no, you would never drown...

Posted by rowan at March 19, 2009 06:14 PM