whisted | for jollyboat: anywhere you go

He doesn't quite fit.

Horatio had known, of course, that he wouldn't. Even if he had managed to make his way onto a ship years ago, everyone would have known he was odd. Perhaps it's for the best that he's clearly just a bit skittish, just a bit uncertain of himself unlike the other young men his age. Perhaps that would distract the human mind from looking to see just why, exactly, this one didn't seem to be quite entirely right.

It was, nonetheless, one thing to know and another thing to live. Being bundled in heavy unfamiliar fabric is surprisingly uncomfortable. The uniform is far more restrictive than the clothing he had forced himself to become accustomed to while hovering around the port. The sensation of being on a boat, despite the familiarity of the sea, is throwing his stomach through something of a loop. He can't shift and change direction. He can't twist along with the waves, comfortable and easy, or cut through below the discomfort of breakers tugging in the wrong direction. It's unnatural, here on a warped version of the surface. It's twisting something uncomfortable in his shoulders, almost dizzying as he tries to find his feet under him.

This is what he wanted, and it doesn't quite fit.

For the most part, feeling his skin in the sack slung over his shoulders is reassuring. His fingers can worry against the familiar softness with each odd rush of discomfort. This, after all, is the back-up plan. This is the fail-safe if everything falls completely to pieces and he needs to throw himself simply back into the sea. This is the piece of himself which will always fit properly, no matter where he is.

That's why it's resting at the top of his sack as he scrambles up properly into the ship. That's why, in the bluster of humanity, the young selkie doesn't notice that his skin has spilled out onto the deck.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

whisted

The edge of his smile drops, then perks back up a moment later with another happy little squirm of his spine.

"Even better. Our place."

Somewhere quiet with a proper ocean breeze. Somewhere no one would bother them if they took long walks along a shore or were a bit eccentric in their habits.

Somewhere theirs.

From:

jollyboat

"Our place."

It's nice to echo. It's got such a properly happy smile on Archie's face.

"'d mean you being-- closer t'home, too."

And that's incredibly important.

From:

whisted

Of course Archie is worrying about keeping him next to the sea. Of course this is the right man for his heart to have been left in the hands of so completely.

Horatio sits up with a pleased twisting stretch, lips coming to brush affectionately against the young man's cheek.

"You could make the mountains home, Archie."`

From:

jollyboat

That earns an entirely pleased hum from Archie as he kisses Horatio's cheek back.

"Doesn't mean we need to, though."

But it's nice to know Horatio feels that way.

From:

whisted

"Hm."

They ought to be properly dressed and heading back. They ought to be folding back into themselves.

But it's so lovely to nuzzle his nose against Archie's and let his natural vocalizations flutter softly from his throat.

From:

jollyboat

Hopefully it's all right that Archie answers those gentle sounds with a quick proper kiss. Hopefully it's all right that they linger together for a few moments, Archie's eyes shutting with a complete sense of contentedness.

The words, when they come, are clearly ones he didn't mean to say aloud; escape on a whisper he barely notices actually frees itself from his lips.

"--I love you."

From:

whisted

It's a lovely kiss. It's a lovely moment of lingering together, feeling the lovely comfort of both being entirely happy.

And it's a lovely thing to hear, tugging his own lips back briefly far enough to nearly crack.

"I love you, Archie."

From:

jollyboat

That gets Archie’s eyes opening, wanting to see the smile he hears in Horatio’s voice. That earns a bright smile akin to the ones from when they met for the first time.

“‘m— glad that’s okay,” he whispers, “Don’t— let me get to be too much, okay?”

From:

whisted

Time, surely, for another few crooked little smiles pressed into sloppy little kisses.

But. "--too much?"

From:

jollyboat

Of course he’s going to smile back. Of course he’s going to kiss him softly.

Of course he might never stop worrying about this.

“‘f I— ask too much of you,” he explains, “If I ever stop being— safe.”

From:

whisted

It's something Archie seems to circle back to. That means it's something Horatio has to blink and actually consider for a moment.

"...okay." The bump of his nose is light, almost serious. "I won't let you... ask too much."

But it's nearly impossible to imagine someone this gentle with him--even down to handing back his skin--would ever ask too much.

From:

jollyboat

"'s just..."

He feels the need to explain it. He knows it's something that he can't help but keep bringing up.

"'m not-- sure, entirely. Where the-- lines are."

What he's allowed. What's acceptable. What won't be too much for Horatio to handle.

"And I don't-- ever want t'be a-- a taker."

Like the other men the selkies had every right to fear. Like Simpson, even though he refuses to let even the man's name be something he lingers on.

"So I guess, just... Y'promise? You'll-- tell me?"

From:

whisted

It's such an odd thing for Archie to fear. It seems so utterly incongruous with everything Horatio has seen and known about the young man since the very first second they'd met, his own skin held innocently between them.

"I'll tell you."

From:

jollyboat

"All right."

He relaxes a little more at that, though he can't help but ask. It's confusing, after all, how little this seems to linger in Horatio's mind.

"'re you-- not as-- worried about it?"

He hadn't even taken a beat in response to the 'I love you.'

From:

whisted

"...no."

Both shoulders lift slightly. The gesture is one he's borrowed from Matthews, but it's beginning to feel more natural in this body.

"All you... do is... give me back, Archie. To... the sea. To myself. That's how you love."

Not the kind of love his elders had warned him of--the sort of love that clutched and held and refused to let go.

From:

jollyboat

"--Oh."

That clearly means a lot. That has him leaning in all the more to bump his nose lightly against Horatio's, full of affection.

"That's-- really good."

That's absolutely a relief.

From:

whisted

How can he doubt that this is the way Archie loves? How can he doubt that this love is going to keep on just like this?

Nudging their noses together is a lovely way to stay comfortable in the moment.

"It is. And... really real."

From:

jollyboat

"It is."

Another contented sigh. Another gentle brush of noses.

"I love you."

From:

whisted

"I love you, Archie Kennedy."

And, because it always makes things feel more real, the thought is echoed with a likely familiar little vocalization, soft and affectionate as their foreheads nudge together more firmly for a moment.

From:

jollyboat

Oh.

That’s a very familiar vocalization. That’s a familiar vocalization paired with relatively new words. That’s a connection he’s only just making, and is overwhelmedly glad to do so.

It suddenly feels very crucial to press his lips against Horatio’s again. He’s been trying hard to show affection, rather than gratitude.

From:

whisted

Well, that's a wonderful reaction. That turns the noise into a thrilled little laugh, fingers catching lightly for just a beat at Archie's shoulder to linger in the kiss.

They'll have this, someday. They'll fight their way through the service, and this will be their reward.

It's wonderful.

From:

jollyboat

He'll try to echo the sound back to Horatio, someday. It may even be soon.

First, though, he has to just keep kissing the selkie as much as they can safely get away with. That's far less easy to find time for than practicing how to speak in Horatio's native tongue.

From:

whisted

Hopefully Archie won't mind the kisses swallowing a good deal of pleased laughter. It's the closest human noise to what he means, falling happily over his lips and against Archie's without a care in the world.

This, after all, is how he wants Archie to feel. What better than to pour the emotion directly between them?

From:

jollyboat

Archie won't mind at all. Archie will absolutely be laughing back, as well, returning the kisses contentedly. He's also going to keep murmuring soft "I love you"s.

If he ever has to count his happiest moments in his life, this is definitely going to be one of them.

From:

whisted

It's important, in moments like this, to be careful not to push too far--for either of them. But it's difficult, in a lovely moment like this, not to tug Archie down into the sand with him, clinging happily tight.