Malta

[peace_inthe_violence]

This is a fairy tale of blood and bullets
It is the story of three men and three women and a small island between Italy and Africa.
This is a story about tragedy and pain, about healing and hope, but mostly it is about
love.

Comments

[transfuge]

It was the middle of the afternoon on what felt like the hottest day of the summer. Booker was in the middle of the pool floating on his back naked as the day he was born. The water was cool and much better than even modern air conditioning.

Not that he had anything against modern air conditioning. Like modern plumbing it was a brilliant invention.

The water lapping at his skin while the sun beat down on him put Booker into a clear, peaceful mood. There wasn't a damn problem in the world right now. It was just him and the water and a nice afternoon in the sun.

Maybe in a little bit he'd actually swim and get some exercise. He didn't want to completely waste the day. Well, maybe he did. It'd be nice just to float the rest of the day away until it got too cold to be in the water.

Luckily, there were high fences around the pool so none of the neighbors would be scandalized by a middle aged man skinny dipping in the middle of the day.

[orgilotes]

The sight of Booker laying out naked in the pool almost got a laugh out of Andy, coming around the side of the water with the warm terracotta tiles under her bare feet; she hardly bothered with a swimsuit even though Joe had bought her one once. She crouched by the edge of the pool and flicked her hand through the water, splashing droplets over Booker's face before she slid in and under.

She had no faith Booker would let her surprise him, but playfighting was something they all did, and water made it no different.

[transfuge]

Booker didn't bother opening his eyes. He knew Andy's steps as well as his own. He did make a sound of protest when she splashed his face. Damn it, he was trying to relax.

Of course, he knew what he was in for when she joined him in the water. Booker twisted around and braced himself to get dragged under the water for a bit of wrestling.

Not that he was against that. Once Andy burned off the energy they could probably relax together.

[orgilotes]

She broke the surface beside him silently and gracefully, hair slicked back from her face and a smile on her lips, kicking to keep herself afloat as she ducked him under. The wrestling was gently enough that he could deflect her if he wanted, but Andy doubted Booker would. It was all in good fun.

"Come get me," she laughed before slipping away, aiming to chase him, or failing that make him chaseher.

[transfuge]

Booker caught Andy as soon as she was in reach. He wrapped her in his arms and then dragged them both under the water for a moment. Then he let go and swam away from her.

He broke the surface a few feet away and pushed his hair back out of his eyes. "You are trouble. Anywhere you go even here."

A few seconds later Booker dove for her. He was a good swimmer with his strong shoulders. He could close in on her with a few solid strokes of his arms. She had to move fast, which he knew she could do easily.

[orgilotes]

Andy shrieked out a laugh when Booker caught her, bubbling up through the water: neither of them would drown so easily, and she twisted away from his grasping hands under the water, darting through the water like a fish. She could move faster than him, it was true, but he was a stronger swimmer than she.

They thrashed for a moment until she kicked free and swam to the edge, hand grasping the tiled edge though her ankles were still in easy grasp.

[transfuge]

Booker made a playful grab for her ankles but didn't actually grab her. Instead he pushed away from the edge of the pool and floated on his back again. The whole point was to stay in the water to beat the afternoon heat.

"If you're getting out bring from drinks back with you." Booker would take water or juice or alcohol of some sort. He wanted the alcohol but he would leave it up to her.

If she actually got out of the water. Booker thought it might be bait. She could bluff pretty well when she wanted.

[orgilotes]

She chuckled as she hauled herself up to sit on the edge, legs still dangling in the water and sunlight glittering off the drops stuck to her skin. "I'll get you a drink if you come here," Andy replied, curling her finger in a gesture to draw him over.

"Nicky found peaches in the market yesterday," she said, leaning forward enough to put her elbows on her knees; he'd diced them and left them in alcohol and sugar in the fridge for some occasion, though Andy doubted he'd miss enough to make two drinks. "Might make you something with it."

[transfuge]

For the promise of a nice cool drink Booker could be tempted. He lazily made his way over with a few gentle kicks of his legs.

He folded his arms over her lap and rested his chin on top of them. "Sounds like you're going to make me something very sweet."

She probably meant he should come sit with her but this was more entertaining to him. Considering how much they had draped themselves all over him recently he figured a little turn about was fair play.

Booker wasn't picky about alcohol but he did prefer things that burned instead of sweet things that hid how much alcohol was actually in the drink.

[orgilotes]

Andy smiled down at him when he came close and put his head on her lap, only leaning down and tilting him up to meet her for a kiss that felt like nuzzling in, enveloping themselves in each other. It didn't progress very far, though he'd feel the sharp nip of her teeth sinking into his lip, and when they broke off it was to a still-lazy curl of her mouth.

"Not too sweet. I know you like the bitter."

[transfuge]

Booker smiled softly at the kiss.

"I like strong flavors. Sweet just hurts my teeth." He never grew up with a lot of sweet things and even once they became mass produced and cheap he never really learned to love sugar.

"But make yourself whatever you'd like. I know there's plenty of vodka around." Booker had made a dent in their whiskey because it was his favorite but he hadn't touched many of the other bottles in the house. "I'll be here working on my tan."

He pushed off from her lap and went back to floating in the water with a pleased smile.

[orgilotes]

"I know," she replied with a hum, disappearing inside again and coming back with two glasses: not vodka, surprisingly enough. Andy would drink pretty much anything, but vodka had a clean finish, it didn't leave a taste on her tongue to be washed away later.

Bourbon and the peaches Nicky had left in the fridge would do well enough on a hot day, and Andy only twisted her hand holding Booker's glass to make the ice cubes clink. "Here. Your promised drink," she teased, though she'd make him come get it from her. She laid down on the towel she'd brought out beside the pool, closing her eyes to the bright sunlight.

And maybe sneaking glances at Booker once in a while. "You're going to be uneven if you stay in the water like that, though."

[transfuge]

The dark amber liquid and a few floating bits of peach were a siren's call. Booker swam over to the edge of the pool and propped himself on his arms. He took the glass immediately and drank.

It was just the right mix of burn and sweet. Andy was too good to him.

"I'll have to come out tomorrow and do the other side then." He stayed by the edge of the pool this time. There was a drink to enjoy and good company. Booker soaked up the peaceful moment. Who knew when their life would turn to war again?

"I can lie around like a bum while I tan my bum."

[peace_inthe_violence]

There were fences, but they weren't for neighbors. They were purely for the option of shade and to act as something for the vines to climb. By now, one could barely see the original fence. The gate however was still visible, mostly because Nicky had cut back the vines that had overtaken it since he'd last been there.

It also squeaked, just oh so slightly, which may or may not alert the man in the pool that he was no longer alone.

Nicky didn't try to be quiet as he strolled over to one of the deck lounges, but centuries of practice made his step nearly silent on the stones that made up the deck area. He settled himself in the chair, kicking off his flip flops and peeling off his shirt to soak in some sun as he opened a book and started reading.

[transfuge]

Booker tilted his head back far enough to see who had entered the pool deck. He smiled a little when he saw Nicky. He smiled a little.

"What are you reading?" he asked as he floated gently towards the edge of the pool closer to Nicky.

Because if there was a book Booker wanted to know what it was. He folded his arms on the edge of the pool and rested his chin on his arms. Nothing wrong with admiring Nicky reading in the sun either.

[peace_inthe_violence]

He was smiling almost as soon as he heard the water's gentle lapping on the edges change in pitch. Trust Booker to automatically head for whatever book happened to be in the area.

He loved it.

He tilted the book down over his chest so that he could smirk at the other man. "A book that is probably a little more modern than you'd care for, I think. Enjoying your swim?"

He made no effort to hide how his eyes roamed over all that exposed skin.

[transfuge]

"That's a wild assumption. I care about all books." Alright, yes, he had a preference for the historical but Booker would read anything put in front of him. He pushed himself up on his arms half out of the water to see if he could get a closer look at the title.

But Nicky had tilted it down so he couldn't really see. He slumped back into the water.

"Yeah, it's a perfect day for it." Booker enjoyed the coolness lapping at his skin.

[peace_inthe_violence]

He snorted a small laugh when Booker hoisted himself up out of the water to try and get a look at the book, rolling his eyes a little. Honestly, the man was like a kid in a candy store when it came to books. It was adorable.

It was also really nice to see that level of curiosity in him again after they had gone so long without it.

"It's a modern fantasy. Wizards and dragons and knights and the like, but in a modern world setting. I'm enjoying it so far." He tilted the book back up, holding it specifically so that Booker could see the cover. "It is a beautiful day. I was considering a swim myself, after a few chapters."

[transfuge]

Modern fantasy was not always Booker's favorite genre. He did have a preference for fiction, of course, but he liked Hemingway and C.S. Lewis. Tolkien classic fantasy? He enjoyed that. He hadn't enjoyed Harry Potter when that was big.

"You had to pick a book I was less likely to steal, didn't you?" He pushed off from the wall and returned to floating along on his back.

He smiled a little, mostly amused by Nicky's reading choices. He wasn't in the mood to argue about book quality right now. "I'll probably be here for a few more hours. You can join me whenever you'd like."

[peace_inthe_violence]

"I like this series. This is actually the start of rereading the whole thing. The fact that you won't steal it from me in the middle of reading it just happens to be a nice perk."

He was still smiling, the book still resting against his chest instead of up where he could actually read it. Really, watching Booker float so easily in the water was a bit of a distraction. Honestly, how was anyone supposed to concentrate on the written word when they had such a tantalizing view. And if his accent was a little thicker than it had been before, well...who was going to call him on it?

"If you stay in there for hours, bello, you will be as a prune."

[transfuge]

"Well, now I might steal it from you just to be an asshole." Booker lifted his head and grinned at Nicky. "Unless that'll get me stabbed."

The grifter and the conman couldn't quite give up stealing all the time. It was a playful thing with him in the family. If he took something from them it was never malicious.

"Yeah but it'll heal a few minutes after I get out of here." Booker wiggled his fingers in Nicky's direction. They are a little pruny but not crazy bad yet. "It's too hot to do anything else."

[peace_inthe_violence]

"Mmm, but you'd have to get out of the pool for that." There was a flash of teeth in that smile, a hint of a promise that was gone quickly enough that if Booker wanted to ignore it he could.

Sitting up, he replaced the bookmark on his page and snapped the book shut, setting it aside on the little drink table. He wasn't going to get any reading done with Booker on display like that. So...the question became, did his join the other man in the pool, or did he take his book and head back into the house?

"Or I could join you in there..."

[transfuge]

There it was. The storm under Nicky's calm. Anyone who thought he felt less than his romantic husband was an idiot. Booker knew it and for the first time in a long time he felt his own fire rise up to meet it.

"You should join me. The water's real nice." Booker's smile was a little more flirtatious, a little more warm than his usual one. "I'm nicer, though."

The way he saw it if Nicky wanted to read he would've stayed inside to do it or gone to his garden roof if he really wanted the sun while he read. He thought, maybe, that Nicky had come out here to tease him but meant to join him all along.

[peace_inthe_violence]

He hadn't actually known that the pool was...occupied. He'd come out to read and soak up the sun until the heat got to be too much and then he was going to jump in. It was a good plan for a lazy afternoon.

Booker was a better plan, though.

Grabbing his shirt from the ground, he tossed it over his book to protect the cover from the sun, then stood up and easily slipped out of the shorts that were obviously Joe's by how loose they were on his hips. He wasn't wearing anything beneath, though that wasn't all that unusual for him.

"You are, are you? Well, I'm not sure if you can be the judge of that yourself, bello."

He gasped a little as he lowered himself into the water, the sudden temperature difference making his skin tighten.

[transfuge]

Booker grinned to himself as Nicky stripped down. It was no surprised to see he wasn't wearing much besides the basics. They were on vacation. They didn't need layers like they would if they were working.

"You don't think I'm nice?" Booker swam over with a few lazy strokes of his arms. He was a great swimmer even though he was fairly bulky in comparison to Nicky. "I'm hurt."

And because he was in a good mood and feeling playful he grabbed Nicky around the middle and dragged him into the water instead of letting him slowly lower himself into the water and proper adjust to the temperature.

He laughed the whole time too.