Chapter Text
“Hotel’s got a hot tub,” Murdock sang, clapping his hands together once and then rubbing them excitedly. “You did good, Faceguy.”
“Yeah,” said Face, sparing a brief glance from his notepad. “But, you know, there’s no way they’re going to let us stay another night. I got us here as travel writers and company . If it was just me, you know, a single travel columnist, maybe I could swing some sort of, ‘Hey, you know, I liked this place so much, I’d like to stay a little longer and do a focus piece on your lovely little hotel,’ right, but with company? They wouldn’t buy it.”
“Uh-huh,” Murdock said, nodding without really listening. He was too busy deciding whether his boxers would serve as an acceptable substitute for swimming trunks. “So, Face, whaddya say: You, me, jacuzzi?” He waggled his brows.
“Maybe in a minute, Murdock,” Face waved him away without looking up from the work he’d returned to. “I’m going over the numbers to see if we can afford to
pay
for another night here. And if not, I’m gonna have to brainstorm another con. Hannibal’s insisting we stick around and make sure those guys get some real jail time, since that sheriff left us feeling a little doubtful.”
“Think we can go au naturel? I don’t got a bathing suit.”
Face frowned, but still didn’t look up. “Er, check the little closet. They said something about robes and things for convenience. I think they mentioned supplies for the pool.”
Murdock darted to the closet by the entryway. “Bingo!” he said, pulling out a blue pair of trunks. “Guess that’ll leave you to go skinny dipping if you join me later.”
“Great.”
“Don’t work too hard, Faceguy,” said Murdock, just before planting a kiss on Face’s cheek and heading out the door.
He was halfway down the hall before he realized that thinking about kissing your friend’s cheek and actually kissing your friend’s cheek were two different things. Things he hadn’t meant to get mixed up.
Oops.
He stopped dead in his tracks for a moment, debating whether to go back and awkwardly apologize.
“No, see, ‘cause I’m quirky. I’m a quirky lil’ guy,” he said to himself, shrugging and continuing on his way, ignoring the way the little old lady entering her room gave him a suspicious glance.
“If I go back there,” Murdock continued, “and I apologize for it, then he’ll know I meant it in some sorta way. But if I just keep on goin’, he’ll figure it was just me bein’ a quirky lil’ guy.”
He blew out a breath, allowed himself a small, anxious whimper, and took the elevator down to the outdoor pool and spa.
After changing in one of the two bamboo “huts” provided by the hotel, he dove into the pool to wash the stress of the day off of himself before bothering with the hot tub.
It wasn’t quite dark yet, so a few hotel guests came and went in the 20 minutes that Murdock swam laps. He just needed to clear his head from his little kissy-cheeky-mishap earlier.
He wondered if Face would come down and join him at any point.
Hannibal and B.A. were sharing a room, and neither of them seemed interested in the hotel amenities, either.
Murdock wasn’t alone, though.
He’d spotted the guy as soon as he’d come out of the changing hut.
Real handsome guy about Murdock’s age, with dark brown hair, piercing eyes, and a dimpled smile.
He’d been resting in one of the reclining poolside chairs for nearly half an hour, but finally got up to dive in on the other side of the pool.
Murdock kept an eye on him. He was sure he wasn’t one of Finch’s guys – the scum the team had rounded up and left with the county sheriff that afternoon.
No, this guy seemed trustworthy.
Which meant he wasn’t spying on Murdock… he was just… looking at him.
Murdock flushed at the realization.
He couldn’t– He wasn’t– Was he looking at him like that?
The handsome stranger slid into the hot tub as the sun began to set.
Murdock took a deep breath, pulled himself out of the pool, wiped his face with his towel, and threw it over his shoulder as he approached the hot tub. “Mind if I join ya?”
“Please,” said the man, gesturing at the space beside him rather than across from him.
Murdock licked his lips, eyes darting between the space indicated and the man who’d offered it.
He took another breath, then eased himself into the water beside the stranger. They were inches apart…
He watched the guy for a moment, waiting for an outburst, an accusation, an assault.
Nothing. Just a warm smile.
“Well, if we, uh–” Murdock paused to chuckle nervously. This next line could get him in trouble. And sure, he knew how to handle himself, but he’d never had to handle this particular brand of potential trouble. He put on a brave face. “I mean, if we’re gonna be sittin’ in each other’s laps, here, you might as well tell me your name.”
Murdock held his breath.
The guy chuckled, glancing down briefly, and Murdock admired his long, thick eyelashes. He looked back up at him. “It’s Jim. But, um,” he bit his lip, the hint of a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, “I’d be happy to skip the formalities. I’ve had my eye on you all evening, you know.”
Murdock gulped. “O-oh really?” He chuckled, glancing down. “I, um… I thought you might’ve been lookin’, but I didn’t wanna assume.”
“Oh, you can assume a lot of things, now. Assume away.” Jim smiled.
Murdock gave him a bright smile back, then dipped his head and murmured, “How ‘bout if I, uh…” He looked back up and asked through a bashful chuckle, “How ‘bout if I assumed you might be interested in lockin’ lips with a fella like me?”
“You’d be on the money with that one,” Jim replied, his eyes darting from Murdock’s eyes to his mouth. “Wanna?”
“Here?”
Jim shrugged. “Why not?”
Murdock threw a glance over his shoulder. Darted his gaze around the pool area. Coast was clear. He had no reason to deny himself a little indulgence, especially after the job him and the team had just pulled off.
He leaned closer to Jim, watching the man’s lips quirk into a smile as Murdock licked his own. His heart raced. He’d never actually kissed a guy before. He’d wanted to – oh man , had he wanted to! But opportunities like this weren’t exactly a frequent occurrence, and it wasn’t like Murdock got out of the VA hospital often enough to find the right kinda bars in the city.
So, heart pounding, Murdock kept leaning in, closer, closer, until they were sharing a breath.
Jim reached up to cup Murdock’s jaw, tipping his chin up, and then… they were kissing.
Huh. It wasn’t all that different from kissing women, Murdock noted. He could barely even feel Jim’s stubble on his cheek.
It was nice, though. Jim definitely seemed to know what he was doing. Which was great, because Murdock could count on one hand how many times he’d kissed someone.
Jim chuckled against Murdock’s mouth, and Murdock wondered what embarrassing sound he must’ve made to prompt that. Had that squeak come from him? Oh, man.
Well, who could blame him? This guy was tall, dark, and handsome, and was treating Murdock like a prince!
The hot tub was already making him sweat. Man, he wished he could strip out of his trunks…
Murdock was contemplating whether he was feeling bold enough to invite himself back to Jim’s room, when the sound of footsteps approaching startled him.
A familiar voice shouted, “Hey, what the hell are you doing?!”
Murdock jerked away from Jim, his eyes wide and kiss-bitten lips slightly parted.
Face was glowering at Jim. “You can’t just do that to people!”
“Hey, man, why don’t you mind your business? Maybe you weren’t spying long enough, but this happened to be a mutual endeavor, here. We’re two grown men; we can do whatever we want. It’s 1985, man. We aren’t hurting anyone. If you aren’t joining us, then leave us alone.”
Murdock flushed deeper under the suggestion that Face join in on the intimacy. Oh, God, if he only knew…
“This man is insane,” Face shouted, jabbing a finger towards Murdock, whose brows drew together in response. “He doesn’t know what he’s doing, you can’t just weasel your way into his– I can’t believe this! Get out of here before I call the rest of our friends over and really make you feel unwelcome.”
Jim stood in the tub and put his hands up. “Whoa, whoa, whoa,” he said, flicking an uncertain gaze to Murdock and then back to Face. “He seems totally aware, to me.”
“Yeah? Well I’ve seen him act like a dog. Or a horse. Or a little kitty cat. Does that sound like a person who can really grasp the weight of… of whatever you were trying to do to him?”
Murdock wanted to sink into the hot tub and drown. Or maybe turn the heat up to an unnatural level and be boiled alive in there. Either option sounded better than this.
“It was just a kiss, man.”
“He’s not like that! He’s not like any of us, and he’s definitely not like that!”
Jim looked back to Murdock, searching him for a response.
Murdock was too busy glaring at Face through watery eyes to pay Jim any attention. He stood so fast the water splashed Face’s nice clothes. Murdock spat, “I don’t think you really know what I’m like at all, Peck.”
Face looked at him as though he’d just been shot from behind. Murdock never called him by his last name. Or looked at him so angrily… “Wh– Murdock, what…?”
They were at a standstill, with Murdock glowering at Face and Face staring blankly at the man he thought he knew.
“I think…” Jim got out of the hot tub and started backing away, looking between the two of them. “I think you guys have some, uh… stuff to talk about.” He looked at Murdock with a sincere gaze. “I’m sorry if I upset you in any way.”
“I have nothing to talk about.” Murdock reached out and grabbed the hotel key from Face’s frozen hand, then turned heel and left without a second glance at either of them. He wasn’t sure he could keep the tears in any longer.
He made a beeline for the main hotel building, stabbed the elevator button with his thumb, and stewed in the elevator on its way up, his hands in fists at his sides.
As soon as the door opened to the right floor, he darted into the room he and Face had been meant to share that evening. So much for that .
He locked the door once he was safely inside.
For a few seconds, all he could do was stand frozen in the entryway, dripping onto the nice green carpet.
He realized then that he’d forgotten his clothes on one of the chairs by the pool. Damn.
Murdock made his way into the little seating area in the front, then walked in a small circle a few times before stopping and shouting, “Fuck!”
Next thing he knew, his knuckles were bleeding.
Why were his knuckles bleeding?
He glanced down at his bloodied hand, frowning.
Oh.
He clenched his jaw, assessing the damage he’d done to the hotel room wall.
Whatever.
Forget the wall.
That was Face’s problem.
Murdock trudged over to the bathroom, turned on the shower, and got in without removing the swim trunks. He sat with his head in his hands, blood trickling from his knuckles and turning the water pink on its way down the drain.
“He doesn’t even know me,” he whispered.
Murdock cried.