revivalproject | Down Under

WHO: Hargrove, Shepherd, Stark, OTA
WHERE: Swimming through Temba
WHAT: Various posts
WHEN: It's Gonna Be MerMay
WARNINGS: Language, talks of injuries

Vegemite Sandwich - Open

As if the what, thirty-six hours or so weren't enough whiplash for Billy, imagine the surprise of waking up underwater. With fins. Either Kaplan was really trying to make up for what happened in some weird way, or the aliens were doing shit again. Swimming out of his hospital bed, everything still hurt, but it was bearable. His left arm is all wrapped up and splinted, and his torso is just as wrapped, as per Billy's request.

After giving himself some time to make sure all of his injuries and scars were wrapped up, he heads out. The blond isn't really... fast, per say. There's speed to his swimming compared to doing it as a human at least. Seems like the bruises from his fall transferred to his tail though. Damn aliens, they could've healed him up first before giving him a tail. Or Kaplan. Whoever it was that did this shit. Swimming out to the town center and hovering over the fountain, he decides he'd rather be closer to the ground.

"I guess this is to make up for trying to set the place on fire last year with the volcano?" he grumbles, looking around with a hand on his hip.

Fried-Out Kombi - Stark

His exploring of the water leads him down to the southern part of the city. Maybe the southwest? It's difficult for him to tell like this underwater. Whatever, it's not important. What is important is that somewhere here, where the lake is now really filled again, is Billy's lost axe. The one he had dropped during the rage bug thing had Kaplan attack him. It wasn't anywhere on the road, which was a shame.

His heart drops in his chest at the sight of that yawning opening below him. That bright red tail swishes to take him further from it. He breathes in and out steadily, staring down at it. Everything was underwater. There were no rats here to swarm him, nothing to snap out to snag him. To drag him down into darkness while whatever possessed him made his hands do unforgivable things. He swims in a circle above, trying to gather enough nerve to just swim in, to find his weapon.

"It's just a tunnel," he mutters under his breath. "There's no rats, no Vecna thing."

A Man in Brüssel - Shepherd

Later, when it's clear the sun is setting, Billy heads back to familiar territory. His swimming is a little stronger now, more familiar with the natural feeling motion of his fins and tail. There's a quick trip into the civic center to make sure his tape player is okay - it seems to be - and he swims down to the main level. A longing look at all the training gear he wouldn't be able to use for awhile, Billy heads back out to the town square. There's no lingering there, because now he can do something he wouldn't be able to as a human.

Bubbles stream in his wake when the Californian heads to the diner. Not to the doors though, going up around to a window he's more familiar with. Peering in, he knocks on Tommy's window with his good hand. "Shepherd! Open up!" he calls, lowering enough so he can lean against the windowsill with his good arm like he's some sort of fairytale prince or something.

"It's not every day I can meet you up at your window like this after all."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"I'm sure we could build one if we needed it."

And if Billy wants it, then Tommy thinks they'll need it. Time to research radios.

"You promising, Sunshine? Because I could always use a little weight to hold me down."

Damn if it doesn't sound like heaven to sleep that close to someone who really wants it.

"You probably could. You fixed my stuff before." No doubt they could figure out how to get a radio that had a tape deck with it. Billy studies Tommy's face, realizing that he was serious about that cuddling while sleeping thing. The blond had been teasing with it, but it wasn't a teasing that was reciprocated it seemed.

Tommy wants that.

Folding everything back, Billy sits up and scooches in close. Fingers move over the line of his boyfriend's jaw. "Yeah. I can promise that, Daisy Dukes. I'll make sure no nightmares carry you away from me."

"I'm not that good," Tommy insists nervously. Because he didn't feel like he was. He was certain he wasn't good enough. But for Billy, wel, he'd try.

Especially when the guy is trying so much for him.

"I don't want to be carried away. So I'll be happy to have you hold me down. In any way you can imagine."

Which definitely has a more flirtatious edge to it.

"Shut up, you are." Whether Billy was talking about being good at fixing stuff or being good for him, he won't say. Why, because he's too busy laughing with a bright smile at the easy and flirty line he's been given.

"Oh we'll probably get to that point, Shepherd, don't you worry. You're already getting so many of my valuable kisses and touching my perfect hair." He grins and leans in close. Close enough to kiss if Tommy's willing to go for it.

God the guy has such faith in him. Can he see how soft that makes Tommy's gaze? How fond? How breathless he would be if breathing was something he was consciously doing?

Maybe he really had made an impression that night in Billy's dreamscape. Maybe insisting that he would be the guy's hero, that he wouldn't leave him behind, that he would go above and beyond, had really just set a tone for them.

"It's really nice hair," Tommy assures him, before leaning in to steal another one of those kisses.

The thing is, Tommy really did make an impression. Now Billy could return all of the faith the superhero had in the blond being a good person to Tommy being good at fixing things. Tommy, after all, had been the only one to actively try to rescue him from his own memory room. Two people had left of their own accord in the Camaro, Eddie had woken up before then. Tommy had rescued him. Harrington had let him get dragged down into the gap.

Treating Billy fairly, sticking to his boundaries when Billy went over them, all taught him the lessons his home life never did and shaped someone that Tommy wanted as his partner. It all meant something to Billy, even if he didn't say it out loud.

He grins into the kiss, leans into it to steal some more time with it before pulling back just enough. "It's the best hair." And another kiss. "Wanna find something to eat?"

"Best. Fucking. Hair," Tommy confirms. Golden and curled and so soft. Yeah, he loves it.

"Food sounds like the best thing right now. Come on. I know a really nice grove with some killer kelp."

Billy preens like a peacock at the confirming compliment. He knows he has the best hair (Robin is allowed to be wrong with her opinion) and having his boyfriend confirm it does wonders for him.

"Yeah?" Billy steals one last kiss - the last one of many he suspects - before swimming off of the hotel roof. "Better not kill either of us or I'll rip it out from its roots."

"If it tries, I'll boil it," Tommy offers with a grin as he swims after Billy. Time to go have fun.

Down Under - Men at Work

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