Work Text:
He watches the water bounce down sun-kissed skin, a brilliant cascade lit up by the late afternoon sun. Rivulets following the path of well-toned muscles, curling down the planes of a strong back, twisting around shapely, wide thighs.
Sinking into clay-rich soil, disappearing into the compacted sands bellow.
The shower is just a barrel rigged over a shabby metal construction, a single faucet opening to release the water heated by the sun. Technically a bent sheet of corrugated steel was supposed to offer privacy to the person inside, but Baird had heeded a little mind to that, all things considered.
Paduk bathed like a soldier, as he had most of his life – quickly and efficiently, unbothered by his nudity regardless of who was around. In this case, it was just Baird and this was far from the first time they’d seen each other with nothing to stand between them but the desert air.
And yet, as he sat on an old ammo shipping crate conveniently placed nearby, the moisture over his own skin already dry aside from a few stubborn droplets, Baird found the path of his gaze nearly transfixed, mesmerized by Paduk’s raw beauty.
His silver hair a glistening halo over his head as the water washed off the last traces of soap and dirt, the two of them having spent the day so far assembling an old ground water drill. It had been relatively intact, as much as it could be really after decades of being left to the elements. Nothing a large wrench and plenty of grease wouldn’t fix in the end.
But it had still been a slow and effort-laden ordeal, leaving everyone involved glad it was finally over, especially when the drill found water in the first position they’d tested it at.
Water was everything around here, it meant the difference between life and death.
When Baird had arrived the previous night, Paduk had naturally seemed unwilling to accept the idea any of them could need his help with anything – but Baird knew him well enough to be sure he wouldn’t say no to a helping hand once that hand was already in place. It was just the way their relationship went, for so many years now. Paduk’s pride was a cornerstone Baird had become well-accustomed to.
Sighing idly to himself, he felt the sun heat the back of his neck and his shoulders, a single drop of water sliding down from his wet hair that curled slightly at the edges. He needed a haircut, he thought, something he’d paid little mind to in New Ephyra where spring was barely notable yet, only a scent in the cool air suggesting the change of seasons.
Vasgar was a perpetual summer, it was another world almost.
The tap creaked as Paduk closed the valve, halting the water’s freefall and bringing Baird’s attention back to him.
“Now that’s done with, I think a little rest is well-deserved.” He seemed to be in good spirits still, as he quickly dried himself up with a threadbare towel. “At least the camp stayed in the shadows so it should be cool enough to sleep in.”
Baird nodded, glancing over to the high rock face towering over their trucks and the drill, as well as the few tents scattered about. When he’d arrived Hadrien had been the one to tell him where to find Paduk and the few men he’d picked to work on the drill in this remote location, several km away from the main encampment.
“I sure can use a break.” Baird said, watching Paduk dress – a loose cotton shirt with the sleeves cut off and trousers from a coarse fabric. He did have his belt which holstered a knife and a pistol, among other useful items, but from a few years now neither of them wore armor anymore. Not even out here, in the wild.
Funny thing, Baird thought. How quickly they could let go of the habit once there were no new Locust sightings. Almost like their minds had been waiting to shake off that burden, and not merely on the physical level.
Standing up and following after Paduk, he also had to admit that the desert had its own pace. That just a day in he already felt the need to follow it like everyone else here, the way the heat required you to stop, to rest during the day which was something Baird rarely ever did otherwise.
But as they reached the hammock hanging between one large tent’s metal supports, it was like the stillness and quiet had permeated the very air around them. The sky was an endless azure, not a cloud in sight, even the near perpetual winds that usually carried the fine red sands everywhere seemed to have quieted down.
Paduk got in the hammock with a practiced ease, though the glance he cast at Baird seemed expectant.
“Okay, let’s see if I got it this time.” Chuckling with a degree of embarrassment, Baird tried not to think of how he’d messed up the momentum of getting in the hammock last night which had resulted in the two of them nearly tumbling right out of it. “Takes a bit of practice, doesn’t it…”
Still, it seemed a bit easier now (if only a little) and Paduk did have a leg down the ground still, keeping the finicky cloth from swaying too much under Baird’s added weight.
Settling down to lay side by side like that was a rather tight fit, but Baird still felt a sense of lightness that came with being suspended mid-air.
“That’s it.” Paduk muttered out as he wrapped an arm around Baird’s shoulders, the familiar heat of his body pressed firmly against him. “Not so bad in the end, eh?”
“I think I’d still choose a bed if it was an option but, it’s not the worst, yeah.” Maybe he was teasing, but so what if he was? He’d missed Paduk, and although he’d tried to make sure his visits didn’t fall too far apart, sometimes time and work got ahead of him. Months could roll by much too quickly.
Turning his face slightly where it rested over Paduk’s clavicle, Baird reached up until he could press a kiss at the edge of Paduk’s neck, right beneath his ear. The skin was hot and still smelled faintly of soap, and the softness of it made Baird wish to keep on kissing it.
Which he did, admittedly, with a lazy determination that seemed to elicit a few low, pleased hums from Paduk, whose grip on Baird’s waist tightened slightly, the rough palm of his hand sliding in under Baird’s t-shirt with a near practiced ease.
“You do know there’s other people sleeping here…” Paduk muttered out though it seemed almost half-hearted. Baird was pretty certain he didn’t mind the attention, not one bit.
“Mmmm…” Did that constitute as an answer? Placing another kiss slightly higher, feeling the still damp lock of Paduk’s hair brush against his cheek, Baird pressed even closer to him. Around here, with Paduk’s people, it didn’t matter what they did. No one would bat an eye, no one would look at them differently. Baird still found himself amazed by it, after years of living under the COG’s oppressive social scrutiny which was the norm in Tyrus.
Here, he could sleep by Paduk’s side and kiss him and the most he could expect to hear was some gossip, nothing worse, nothing dangerous.
He liked that. Wanted more of it really, simple and present and right, much like the weight of Paduk’s hand over his skin.
***