pushbackthedarkness | (no subject)

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matthias

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It's still so bloody warm.

Marcus isn't especially fond of winter with all its snow and ice and terrible winds -- not nearly as fond of it as Matthias is, certainly -- but the days have been getting shorter and yet no cooler. It's at odds with what Marcus is used to, it being September and still warm enough that people insist on continuing to swim in the ocean. And so Matthias keeps working.

He's not really the beach sort. Which is why he's here still wearing jeans and although he's taken his boots and socks off, it's clear he's not the type to generally spend time at the beach. He looks odd and out of place, but he's here, because Matthias is up on that chair and he'd promised he would come visit near the end of his shift and spend a little time with him.

Truthfully, he's looking forward to the rest of the evening, when they can leave together and get some dinner or go back to Matthias's house, but he's here now. Decidedly not lounging.

"How is it people relax in the sand?" he calls up to Matthias. He's standing close enough to the chair to hide in its shade, knowing if he doesn't, he'll likely end up with a sunburn. It makes for awkward conversation and Matthias has to keep twisting in his chair to see where Marcus has gone, but that's rather funny to him. It's true he's probably a little bored, if he's being entertained by seeing how many times he can make Matthias change direction to speak with him, but he hadn't thought to bring a book.

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Matthias turns, peering underneath the chair with a half-smile. He's supposed to keep his eyes on the water and the shore, but there aren't many people out right now so he's letting himself be a little lenient. Marcus' bad influence, he decides, even if he's the one that invited him.

"You're supposed to get a chair that folds out and relax," he chides, teasingly. "And wear a bathing suit for one thing."

"Can you imagine me in a bathing suit?" he asks, finally moving out from the shade of the chair so he can look up at Matthias. He's made plenty of mistakes with this man, more than he likes to think of for the shame they bring burning through him, but for some reason Matthias still wants him. Still cares. Most days he doesn't know what to do with that, how to incorporate it into his life, but for today he thinks he can just forget about his own hangups and have a nice time.

"All pale spindly legs and the like? No, I don't think I'll do that to all the nice beach goers we have here with us today." He pauses and adds, "And I don't think I've ever had a chair that's meant to fold out on the beach. I'm not sure I've ever sat in one either."

Before he was at the Church, fairly landlocked in the cool English countryside, not exactly known for its beaches. And then, when he was traveling, he'd never had time for it.

"Yes I can. You do not have spindly legs," Matthias chides, though he has no actual idea what the word spindly means. But he has seen Marcus' bare legs plenty of times and he doesn't see even one thing wrong with them.

"The chairs are right up there," he adds, twisting in his seat to point up the beach to where they lend out the chairs and sell other beachly things. "They are for you to relax and get a tan." He grins. "Or just relax."

He'd gotten a tan over the summer, he isn't sure Marcus can achieve one.

"But what if I find teasing you more relaxing than sitting in the sun?" he asks in return, smiling up at Matthias. He consults his watch, then says, "What if I intend on spending every last second of the last ten minutes of your shift making your job very difficult?"

He would never distract Matthias completely, knowing the job he's currently holding is a serious responsibility. People rely on him to keep them safe and Marcus would never risk someone's life.

But it's not very busy on the beach right now. Only a few people are in the water at all, all of them supervised, so he thinks Matthias's attention is okay to wander a little bit.

"Without taking off your shirt and pants off?" Matthias asks, returning Marcus' smile with a dubious one of his own. "I accept that challenge." Matthias is good at stoic, he's had years of experience and training.

He loosely folds his arms and leans back in the chair, watching Marcus with a faint smile on his face, wondering how he's going to possibly make his job that difficult from way down there.

"What about talking about how I'll take my shirt and pants off later?" Marcus asks. "When we're alone at your place. Does that not make it a little more difficult for you to just sit up there quietly?"

He'd assumed they'd get a quick dinner first, but maybe he can get Matthias riled enough that they won't make it to that part of the evening before he's being dragged off to Matthias's house. Considering that, Marcus doesn't think he'll mind it too terribly much. Being manhandled by the very handsome man sitting above him is always an enjoyable experience.

"...It makes me wish I could move forward in time much faster than this," Matthias says, glancing surreptitiously at his wrist before he remembers he isn't wearing a watch. He tries to catch a glimpse of Marcus', but he isn't close enough to see the tiny hands on the faceplate.

"And that I lived on the beach," he adds with a smirk.

"Ah, well, if you lived on the beach and have a stretch of private sand that was just for the two of us, perhaps I'd be able to relax a little better," Marcus agrees, purposely covering his watch when he sees Matthias look down. He's likely too far away to see it either way, but it's a bit more fun like this, teasing him on purpose, making it so he can't just take a quick peek.

"If you had a private bit of beach just for the two of us -- or three of us, on different occasions -- I might even be inclined toward skinny dipping," he adds thoughtfully. That's the sort of thing he might be inclined to right here if it were after dark and he and Matthias were alone. Maybe he's not much of one for the beach, but there are things he can find to enjoy about it.

Matthias' eyebrows climb toward his hairline as he listens to Marcus. He looks down the shore. It stretches farther than he can possibly monitor, though he isn't expected to. There are areas that aren't part of the public beach, their rockier, more wild parts. Either way he isn't aware of how one might be able to make sure part of it stays private.

"How do I do that?" he asks Marcus, leaning in to conspire with him. "Is it something I can buy?"

He bought the land his house sits on, maybe he can buy part of the beach where no one else can go?

Marcus laughs, charmed by Matthias's response, as he usually is. Across the sand he can see the lifeguard who's coming to replace Matthias and he leans up as much as he can, reaching up to close his fingers around Matthias's ankle. It's mostly an innocent touch except for the thumb he strokes along the bone, purposely seeking out the most sensitive place he can find.

"You don't have to buy anything for me," he answers. "Come down from there and I'm sure you and I can find something that works well enough without having to dip into your bank account."

There has to be some places along the beach where people don't go. Marcus is willing to take a risk for Matthias.

Marcus' touch tickles, sending a shiver up Matthias' skin in an incredibly pleasant way. He's grateful his replacement is coming, because he's tempted to abandon his post.

(He never would, but Djel he wanted to.)

"We can take a romantic walk along the beach," Matthias suggests, trying to clear his mind of naughtier things as Jeff comes over. He clears his throat a little and smiles politely in greeting.

"Hey, Matt," Jeff greets, climbing up onto the bench as Matthias climbs down the other side, grabbing his backpack.

"Jeff, hello." Impulsively, Matthias picks Marcus right up. "Foot injury," he explains with a bright smile. "Have a good shift."

"Show off!" Jeff replies.

Even after all this time with Matthias -- and it has been some time, he realizes, nearly a year -- Marcus doesn't expect to be picked up on the middle of the beach and the startled sound he makes is caught somewhere between shock and indignation. It's only instinct, though, because he finds with Matthias's arms locked around him, it's hard to be annoyed at all.

In fact, though he might not say it out loud and in public, he rather likes that Matthias can manhandle him so easily. Marcus is a thin man, but he's tall, and his experience limited, so he's never had anything like it before.

"Foot injury," he echoes with a dubious smile, but his arms slip around Matthias's neck and he doesn't ask to be put down. "And are you planning on carrying me until we find somewhere private?"

"It depends on how private you want," Matthias says with a tiny, playful smirk. He can carry Marcus, but Marcus is a full grown man and it's quite a walk all the way to Candlewood, and even longer to his own house.

But for now, along the beach, he can handle it.

"Also I have you at a, uh...what is the word...delaktig position," he says, dipping his head to press a chaste kiss to Marcus' mouth. Mostly so he doesn't drop him.

"I'm not sure what sort of position that is, but if it's this, I'm rather fond of it," Marcus answers after the kiss and he does feel, in some ways, a little foolish. He's a grown man being carried down the beach, but the further they move from the place where Matthias had been on duty, the fewer people they see.

At this point, he's willing to take a little outcropping of rock if it means he can have a bit of time alone with Matthias. It's hard not to want that when his arms are around Marcus, warm and strong.

"I think that might be private enough for me," he says a moment later, nodding toward a section of the beach that curves away. There are rocks and trees and he hasn't seen anyone in several minutes. And he's in need of a longer kiss than the one they've just shared.

"Alright." Matthias carefully puts Marcus down, and takes his hand to lead him past the wall of rocks. He recognizes the rock formation and knows the beach stretches beyond it in a small pocket before turning into forest that does afford a certain amount of privacy, depending on how busy the beach in general is. Which, today isn't very much.

"Marcus," he says when they step past the rocks to the other side. He grins, nudging him up against the rock wall. "What's gotten into you?"

With a small smile and a shake of his head, Marcus doesn't answer. He's not sure he can answer, if there's a reason he can point to for this mood. Lately, since the exorcism, since the conversation with Neil, he's found himself much more aware of how his choices impact the people he loves.

Matthias had forgiven him, but Neil hadn't been quite so willing. Neil had been angry with him on Matthias's behalf. And rightly so.

"Suppose I'm just trying to better appreciate the best parts of my life here," he says as he slides his arms around Matthias, his hands spreading against the small of his back.

Marcus' hands are warm and make Matthias realize he left his change of clothes up at the office. He can get them later. For now, his own hands fall to Marcus waist, pushing up under his shirt and moving to his back.

"Do you mean me?" Matthias asks, putting on an innocent face. At this point he's just fishing for compliments because he likes the attention.

"Hm, I think I might mean you," Marcus agrees as he slips his hands lower, fingertips dipping into the waist of Matthias's shorts as a gentle tease. He means Matthias and Dutch, the friends he's made, the security he's found. He means it all, everything he has now that he never imagined he would.

Mostly in this moment, though, he means Matthias.

His hands move to curl over Matthias's hips and he pulls their bodies close, fitting their hips together as he smiles. "Yeah. Must be you."

Matthias smiles back brightly, a little self-consciously, his eyes lowering to Marcus' mouth. They flit back up to his blue eyes and he leans in. "Lucky me, then," he says, his smile going crooked before it quiets as he closes the last remaining distance between them to kiss Marcus. A kiss as soft and warm as the tiny, secluded stretch of beach they're on.

Marcus has no idea how it is Matthias can think he's the lucky one in this regard. Tall and broad and beautiful and so unflinchingly kind, a far better man than Marcus deserves. He doesn't think he's known another person with a heart as big as Matthias's except, perhaps, for Mouse. He'll do his best to be better for Matthias than he'd managed to be for her. He'll do everything he can not to hurt him in that same way. Or any way.

That means being a better man and it's tough to teach an old dog new tricks, but he'd like to think he can learn.

Sighing into the kiss, his lips parting, Marcus deepens it without a single thought as to where they are. No one is around, at least for the moment, and he doesn't care.

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