Kael and Jem snippet - Sea - for Olwen

Other Kael and Jem stories can be found here

***** ***** *****

There where times when he didn't just long for the sea, he needed it. I was something Jem would never fully understand – respect, yes, and over time become adept at noticing – but regardless of familiarity the boundless ocean still filled his lover with something between discomfort and dread, and he would never understand in his bones what it was to be away from the sea and feel the lack day after day.

For Jem sailing was an ordeal – more often than not his presence on board the boat a gift because there was no one else Jem would take that step for - and their boat a fragile island of safety to cling to. For Keal it is joy and freedom, and a boat merely an instrument to become one with the waves and the tides and the winds, to escape everything and everyone and share laughter with the heavens in thanks. Callis felt much the same way – sailing and swimming woven into their childhoods as much as the steady beat of tide on rocks had been a part of daily life and nightly dreams for seasons wheeling after seasons. It was their childhood, their joy and Callis's sole rebellion, that she would not give it up in favour of more worthwhile adult persists, for all her mother's disdain and demanding.

The longing was on him now, under the skin. His meditations left him with the breath of salt spay in his nostrils and with his skin prickling for want of wild water's touch. The horizons seemed narrow and cluttered, even from the hill tops, and the night's sounds muffled and paralysed. I took an act of concentration to push the thoughts aside long enough to work the wards that paid their rent. That night when Jem stood at the study door, holding two steaming mugs and smiling just a little, he was suggesting a weekend in Brighton to give them both a break, and Kael realised, looking down, that the wood he'd been turning in his hands had been fashioned into a smooth sleek seal, body stretched in a single wave to scythe through the water.

Kael and Jem snippet - Sea - for Olwen

Other Kael and Jem stories can be found here

***** ***** *****

There where times when he didn't just long for the sea, he needed it. I was something Jem would never fully understand – respect, yes, and over time become adept at noticing – but regardless of familiarity the boundless ocean still filled his lover with something between discomfort and dread, and he would never understand in his bones what it was to be away from the sea and feel the lack day after day.

For Jem sailing was an ordeal – more often than not his presence on board the boat a gift because there was no one else Jem would take that step for - and their boat a fragile island of safety to cling to. For Keal it is joy and freedom, and a boat merely an instrument to become one with the waves and the tides and the winds, to escape everything and everyone and share laughter with the heavens in thanks. Callis felt much the same way – sailing and swimming woven into their childhoods as much as the steady beat of tide on rocks had been a part of daily life and nightly dreams for seasons wheeling after seasons. It was their childhood, their joy and Callis's sole rebellion, that she would not give it up in favour of more worthwhile adult persists, for all her mother's disdain and demanding.

The longing was on him now, under the skin. His meditations left him with the breath of salt spay in his nostrils and with his skin prickling for want of wild water's touch. The horizons seemed narrow and cluttered, even from the hill tops, and the night's sounds muffled and paralysed. I took an act of concentration to push the thoughts aside long enough to work the wards that paid their rent. That night when Jem stood at the study door, holding two steaming mugs and smiling just a little, he was suggesting a weekend in Brighton to give them both a break, and Kael realised, looking down, that the wood he'd been turning in his hands had been fashioned into a smooth sleek seal, body stretched in a single wave to scythe through the water.

Dale : Fourth of July Ficlet

with thanks to neecerie for the quick check for blatent Britishisms, and in hope that it might cheer k_woman's day a little. Set the July before Dale leaves for college. - Happy Fourth to those of you as celebrate it. :)

***** ***** *****

He's worked July 4th weekend at the diner the last two years, and this year he's able to cover the lunch shift so Mason can go to his daughter's barbecue, which means extra hours, getting to celebrate himself and everyone thinking he's the good guy. It also means heat and sweat and the thick smell of hot grease soaking into his clothes and hair, but he's kind of used to that. Still it's bliss when he gets a break – ten till seven is way busier than his usual graveyard shift.

Late night on the holiday weekend, after the parties, most customers are happy and buzzed and there's a bit of a celebratory atmosphere going on. This lunch crowd are mostly families with too many kids and places to be later in the afternoon, and that makes the waitresses stressed and impatient. Seeing as Sam never showed up and it's just Dale and Cally working the grills and trying to keep up with the dirty dishes, Dale growls right back at them when they start tapping on the hatch like that's going to get the food cooked faster.

Shutting the door on all of that and steeping out into the shade of the back lot for fifteen minutes is wonderful. ( Read more... )

Dale : Fourth of July Ficlet

with thanks to neecerie for the quick check for blatent Britishisms, and in hope that it might cheer k_woman's day a little. Set the July before Dale leaves for college. - Happy Fourth to those of you as celebrate it. :)

***** ***** *****

He's worked July 4th weekend at the diner the last two years, and this year he's able to cover the lunch shift so Mason can go to his daughter's barbecue, which means extra hours, getting to celebrate himself and everyone thinking he's the good guy. It also means heat and sweat and the thick smell of hot grease soaking into his clothes and hair, but he's kind of used to that. Still it's bliss when he gets a break – ten till seven is way busier than his usual graveyard shift.

Late night on the holiday weekend, after the parties, most customers are happy and buzzed and there's a bit of a celebratory atmosphere going on. This lunch crowd are mostly families with too many kids and places to be later in the afternoon, and that makes the waitresses stressed and impatient. Seeing as Sam never showed up and it's just Dale and Cally working the grills and trying to keep up with the dirty dishes, Dale growls right back at them when they start tapping on the hatch like that's going to get the food cooked faster.

Shutting the door on all of that and steeping out into the shade of the back lot for fifteen minutes is wonderful. ( Read more... )