Honey

Percy bubbled irritably as he was shoved back under, sputtering once he was able to come up and glower at his sore loser boyfriend as if he wasn't a sore loser himself. "Oh? I wasn't aware that you were an expert swimmer," Percy snarked, though it wasn't as if he was one either. Sure, his body was a fine-tuned machine (though less so than before these days), but his training was much more land-based. He could swim alright, but it wasn't as if he'd given the water much attention in the scheme of things. There weren't exactly any aquatic martial arts he'd ever heard of. Still, it wasn't like he'd back down. "Why exactly would I need to take it easy, honey?" he countered, not waiting for a response. Instead, he counted down so they'd begin at the same time. Inhaling deeply, he sunk beneath the surface.

Though he gave them a fair countdown, Percy wasn't one to play fair. As soon as Leon dipped under, the true challenge would begin. He had full intentions of tormenting his lover until he had no choice but to surface, and one particular thing seemed like a good bet. Swimming closer to the dark-haired man, he kept his eyes locked on him despite the stinging of the saltwater. Grabbing his scarred face, Percy would press his lips to Leon's, hoping to either fluster him or at least trick him into going up for air first.

Competitive Percy had no shame.

[wc: 247 || total: 11181]

He hadn't anticipated Leon calling his bluff, though maybe he should have. Even competitive Percy had his limits, and apparently, this was one of them. Returning the kiss threw him off balance enough, but then he went further. Eyes widening, he tried to endure it though his cheeks lit up immediately. He had full intentions of enacting his own tit for Leon's tat, though. His hand swished through the water and dipped low as if he was going to do something similar, but he merely brushed his fingers against Leon's lower abdomen before it became too much. Percy was making very small strides in his boldness with intimacy, but he wasn't quite there yet. All his boldness evaporated. And honestly, his body didn't seem to care that this was a competition and was gearing up for more touches, which was not what needed right now. It threatened to make him forget that they were competing right now just so they could head back to the pod or pitch the tent...

It sucked being beaten at your own dirty game. Leon's traitorous hands forced him to exhale and flail to surface soon after, sputtering again and smacking the water in aggravation. To think Leon would go so far! Percy irritably turned his back to where Leon would emerge victoriously, a sore loser and angry at his own body being all too willing to fall into Leon's trap. "Fine, fine, I guess you won this one, if you call that winning," he scowled with face still glowing, moodily eyeballing the gigantic rocks of the island. "When we race up one of those," he pointed at the imposing mountains, "I'll beat you for sure."

[wc: 281 || total: 11620]

"Ugh, yeah, yeah. Get it out of your system. It's so rare you might as well savor it."

Percy was still stewing over his loss as Leon rubbed it in. The following silence was prickly and tense, knowing that if he opened his mouth, only swears and grumpy words would fall out and make him look even pettier. It would have been easier to stay sour and come up with another water competition he was sure to win if Leon had just continued to rub salt in his wounds from a safe distance. However, ever the physical man, he was draping his arm over Percy's shoulder and pulling him in, which didn't help the pinkness in his irritated features any. Frankly, he was trying to hide a certain bodily reaction from his smug boyfriend, but it seemed he wouldn't be victorious with that either. Percy crossed his arms tightly to attempt to fend off Leon's touch. The Dagger wasn't used to losing, if receiving the affections of his lover could ever be considered such a thing.

Trying to maintain his testy pout was hard when Leon was forcing him to face him like that. The metal fingers coaxed him into meeting those piercing hues, melting most of his resolve to hold onto his loss. It didn't melt away his aggression, though. "Nothing's here," he answered, a smirk twisting his lips upward. "Why? Do you think you'll get some sort of prize?" he taunted, leaning up and closer to Leon's face. It was almost like he was going to kiss him again, but instead, he paused a breath away, refusing to connect it. "I didn't get any prize when I won. That doesn't seem fair," he rasped hoarsely, hormones betraying him further. Their time at the cabin had only served to exasperate his fledgling libido, which he was still adjusting to. Deciding to be a bit bratty, Percy abruptly turned his face away, though he was devilishly side-eyeing the man with the messy black hair to see what he'd do with a bit of faux denial.

[wc: 345 || total: 12,298]

A shiver rocketed down Percy's spine like flame on a fuse, igniting the stubborn man who was still pitifully trying to unattainable. Leon's lips tickled his ear in the best way, and those infuriating hands seemed intent on exploring his body like they were supposed to be exploring the island. Stay strong, Percy! His arms tightened over his chest and he bit his lip, brows furrowed in concentration. He scoffed at the attempt, though perhaps prematurely. The way those hands gripped his hips broke his concentration. Groaning a curse under his breath, he turned his face to give Leon a furiously blushing frown. "I wish I could tell your smug f-face that you were wrong, but clearly I...can't," he pouted, pressing his back into Leon. Just like the ebb and flow of the untouched span of ocean they waded in, Percy was once more powerless to the current of desire. It begged the question, would he ever get any work done quickly again?

A shiver rocketed down Percy's spine...a second time. For an entirely different reason. If skin could really crawl, his would be doing so very violently about right now. As hot as his body had been moments before, it was just as frigid now. Every ounce of the raging hormones died on the spot as something wriggled so unsettlingly over his foot. Yes, yes, Percy there were things in the ocean. He knew this, yet it didn't do a single thing to soothe the kneejerk revolution and panic sprinting from deep within his guts and injecting itself into his heart. Face whitening, one hand rose to his mouth to muffle the scream making its way out, while the rest of him shot entirely out of the water and twisted to climb up his boyfriend. Whether Leon reached out to hold him or not was irrelevant. He had enough strength to hold himself up with the arm coiled around the taller man's neck.

"What was that?!" he asked sharply, mismatched hues staring down into the clear water below for the offender. It didn't make sense at all, but things touching him in the water, especially creatures, freaked him out. It was the same effect that bugs on dry land had on him. Anything in the water that he couldn't see might as well been a disgusting, horrifying insect. So in the end, it seemed Leon wouldn't be messing Percy up. The crab who didn't give a flying crap about his foot being in the way had. "W-Where is it? Is it g-gone? Leon, do you see it?" he asked, forgetting all about his dignity for a few moments. What If he put his foot down and it ran across it again? Or worse, what if he stepped on it? This is what he got for lowering his guard.

[wc: 469 || total: 13138]

Leon's reaction to also being touched by the foot-loving crustacean did nothing to soothe his lover. Percy took submersion a lot less gracefully, trying his best to somehow stay out of the water even as they both fell in. He splashed around frantically while his brain came to grips with gravity, ungracefully ending up a few feet away while trying to keep his feet from touching the bottom. The irrational panic continued to flare. Part of him knew it was probably a crab, and he liked to eat those, but what if it wasn't? This was uncharted territory! It could be any number of grotesque, alien-looking horror creatures, which he was currently vividly imagining and freaking himself out even more.

As was proven by the demolishing of his own home, Percy's magic reacted to strong emotion without him really being able to do much about it. A pillar jutted up beneath the peppermint head hard enough to knock the air out of him, but it ultimately raised him to safety. Oh, right. He could use magic to help himself out. Convenient! Despite the fact that Leon was probably a whole lot less freaked out by a harmless crab, Percy offered him a 'safer' way out, free of creepy crawlies of the deep. "Climb up!" he called, then proceeded to raise more pieces of the seafloor to make himself a path back to dry land. He made a mad-dash along the wet, sandy rocks, slipping a few times but soon making it back to the pod.

After bending over to catch his breath and regain his composure, the Dagger straightened, oblivious to the blood dripping from his left nostril. Not his best moment. Perhaps it was more clear why Percy was more of an indoors guy now. His body was strong and capable, but there were a lot fewer bug-like things inside houses and laboratories. It was a miracle that Leon hadn't witnessed him interacting with a common spider by now.

[wc: 330 || total: 13715]

Percy had descended into a moody scowl, now realizing as his adrenaline wore off that the stupid crab had cost him something delightful. For a long moment he was silent, his face blood-red from embarrassment as he pulled his own clothes back on. Clearing his throat, he made an effort to answer his lover, though he couldn't quite bring himself to meet his eyes. "No," he protested, his fingers fussing with the hem of his shirt. "Not directly. I just couldn't see it and it felt kinda... like a bug," he explained, turning to pull more research equipment out of the pod to set up on the beach. "I don't like insects," he revealed, though it was putting it rather lightly. Nothing would throw him into an irrational panic like a bug... or a ghost, but hopefully, there weren't any of those around.

First things first, he took a device and jammed its metal rod into the soft dirt. Pressing a button, a pulse went out from the pole, nothing that would hurt a living creature but useful all the same. It basically made a detailed map of the entire island by measuring the wavelengths as they passed through everything touching the ground. It would give him a basic map and an idea of what, if anything, lived on the island. Pointedly glaring at the screen, he watched little crabs scurrying around under the waves. It helped only a little bit to know for sure that they were just normal crabs, but it didn't mean he was any less salty. "When I was little, Gabriel and Lila's brothers used to stick any big they could find down my clothes or in my bed. Or, if we were playing outside, they'd shove me into a spider's web or the bug-infested underbelly of a freshly rolled log. I know it's stupid..." he trailed, rubbing the back of his neck as if the mere thought made his skin crawl.

Trying to shake off his less-than-brave moment of weakness, he finally glanced up into Leon's amused face. He knew him well enough now that the slightest alterations in his steely expressions were readable. Most of the time. "Go ahead and laugh. But before we leave, we're going back into the ocean to finish what you started. Now that I know they're crabs, it'll be fine," Percy warned with a small smirk. The blood had just reached his lips so he could taste the iron, so he finally pulled a handkerchief from his pocket to dab at his nose. That was an annoying side effect to using his magic, no matter how little or much magic power he spent on it. A very small price to pay for something he wanted so badly, though.

[wc: 459 || total: 14455]

Percy risked a warm smile as Leon approached and goosed him on the butt, lifting onto his toes to place a soft kiss on his cheek before going back to what he was doing. "Yes, a deeper look is exactly what we need to do," Percy gushed with barely restrained excitement. Leaning into the pod, he pulled out a couple of knapsacks with sleeping bags rolled on top just in case they had to bed down for the night, and climbing safety equipment strapped to the bottom in case they had to scale some rocks. They were a little heavy, but nothing to two strapping young men should have a problem with. They were full of freeze-dried rations, research equipment, and other miscellaneous supplies. His bag also had a super-condensed tent kit of his own design, of course. On the portions against their backs, they had the little armor pods for exosuits, though he'd only packed light versions since he didn't anticipate there being much of a threat out there. None of his preliminary scans showed any large monsters of any sort. Whatever did live here would have to be self-sufficient and mostly consume sealife to live.

Reaching into one of the cases remaining in the pod, he opened a case and pulled on some glasses. They were designed a bit like sunglasses, except the lenses weren't tinted. As soon as he slipped them on, the lenses subtlety lit up and brought up a HUD similar to their exosuit helmets. When he put his hands out as if he was typing, a hologram of a keyboard appeared under his fingers so he could input data. Some scientists preferred to record their notes, but he found listening to his own voice terribly embarrassing. "Alright, I think that's pretty much everything," he said, checking everything twice before he felt comfortable venturing into the unexplored territory. His eyes gleamed behind the techy specs. "I have to scan everything. Nothing is too insignificant. The more data I have about the makeup of this island, the easier it'll be to classify it and know which beasts we can relocate here," he explained, already stooping to bring handfuls of the beach sand and the pointy rocks up to be scanned and logged. "Oh, surprisingly high in iron," Percy commented more under his breath than to Leon, nearly spiraling into one of his nerd episodes before he caught himself.

Leading Leon out deeper into the rocky island, he suddenly paused his scanning of blades of grass and scraggly bushes. "Once we get to the center and maybe find a place to set up camp, don't forget that we still have at least one more challenge to complete," he said, whirling to face his lover with his face set into a competitive smirk. "We're having a rock climbing race... if you can rock climb. Have you ever done it before?"

[wc: 482 || total: 15,206]

Despite their extreme competitiveness and verbally dunking on each other when the chance arose, Percy had confidence and respect in him that he hardly granted anyone. There were very few people he thought could keep up with him, and Leon was one of them. When his wolfish lover declared that he could do it regardless of experience, Percy believed him and didn't spend even a second worrying about him. It never occurred to him that anything could go wrong.

"Mmm, that one again," Percy grinned at his boyfriend's last words, growing cockier by the second. Trash talk might as well been the couple's dirty talk. Last time this wager was made, the two-toned man had squeaked out a win in the vicious video game race, even though he'd felt like he was dying. Yes, a game on the TV and a very physical climbing contest were as far from each other as possible, but he was probably about as equally confident in both areas. Percy was a whiz at both technological things and anything having to do with how the human body works. "Deal. This time you don't get off with some easy head pats, though," he quipped, turning his back to Leon again so he wouldn't see the rather soft expression rise to his face. Bovid had been a nightmare, but it was a nice memory all the same. It was the first time he and Leon had more willingly crossed over the 'just friends' barrier. Granted, Percy had felt so sick that it hadn't struck him as weird to cuddle and ask for his male friend to run his fingers through his hair, but it had been so extremely comforting that it was perhaps the moment his determination to resist his feelings had started to falter.

Eager to break their tie, Percy made a beeline for the center of the island. The hike wasn't too long since the island wasn't huge, so they should have plenty of energy for their last competition. The map on his HUD indicated that there was a gap in the floating stones at the very center, and though they had yet to give any indication of falling, the researcher felt more comfortable setting up the camp where the sky was clear. Just in case.

Of course, all the things he had in his pack were super high-tech and created by his own hands. Popping a tent the old-fashioned way? Absolutely not! He placed a metal cube on the ground and activated it with his glasses, picking the desired size and shape. Out popped a large canvas tent supported by sturdy metal rods, complete with windows and extra small side rooms for conveniences such as a portable research lab and a bathroom. Another cube ended up being the climate control since Percy wasn't really one to suffer the heat or cold if he could help it. Being rich had spoiled him in many ways, even if he was unaware of it. Percy quickly unpacked all unnecessary items from his bag into a corner of the tent, though he kept his climbing stuff and a first aid kit. A few other devices were placed in the lab part, and as he set them all up to do their various jobs, he called for Leon. "Can you set up the fire? If you need help, there's a flame-pen and a pack of super-burn foam logs in my bag. Just open the package and the air will bring them to full size," he said, though his tone was a smidge distracted as he tapped on keys faster than lightning. No-cook freeze-dried rations were great and all, but the ones that needed to be boiled in water were better. He hadn't packed the camping kettle.

"Once we're set up and eat, we'll get going. I'll even let you pick the rock."

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"Excuse me, I think you think I'm hot stuff," Percy quipped from inside the tent, still feeling pretty cocky so he thought he could get away with it. Leon's affections had helped a little with his insecurities over his appearance since the man clearly found him attractive despite the scars. Most of the time he just had to accept it in disbelief, but if he really thought hard about it, wasn't it the same as how Percy found the scars on Leon's face endearing and a little exciting? The hermit hardly understood the complexities of human attraction and romance, but he was lucky enough to have found some for himself. Even if he did have to be secretive about it.

Finally emerging from the tent undistracted, he put Leon's second question on the back burner and took over the cooking! Normally, that would be a horrific event that would test their love--and their stomaches-- to its very core, but this crap was in Percy's wheelhouse to make, so he ignored any terrified expression or protests his lover may have. Pre-Leon, when he didn't order out or have something pre-cooked by Dagger staff waiting for him in the fridge, instant ramen was his go-to lab food. It'd been a long time since he'd had some, and it was nearly impossible to mess up. Placing a little rack over the fire, he wandered off with a pot to find the freshwater river his scans told him was nearby. After making sure it was safe without adding any chemicals to cleanse any microbials, he filled the pot and was back to boil it in no time.

The packs of ramen he produced were as glamorous as the glamp he'd set up. Usually, the point of instant ramen was how cheap it was, and being fast was just a nice consequence. Someone somewhere had seen it fit to make the instant ramen for the wealthy, meaning it was probably four to five times the price, had better quality ingredients, and even had some veggies and meat in there waiting for rehydration. The collapsable bowls and spoons he produced were set out with the packaged flavor slurry in the bottom.

While the water came to a boil, he'd return to the inquiry about his rock climbing experience. "Wallard encouraged me to learn as part of my training. He said 'Nothing trains the mind and body in both strength and cooperation so intensely as rock climbing' or something like that. There was a training wall in our gym, but he was never satisfied with it," Percy said, smiling fondly. The water came to a boil, so Percy mixed it into the bowls and added the rest of the contents of the packets, covering them to heat for a few minutes as he sat down. "We went on a few rock climbing trips in the mountains around Ishgar. Wallard is a beast and he kind of scares me," the peppermint head chuckled affectionately. Though it was never intended for the Dagger children to bond to the head of staff, as their nanny, it was hard not to. Especially for Percy. Whether he'd admit it or not, Wallard was the closest thing he had to what a dad should be. He was the closest thing to a nurturing parent any of them had.

With the food ready, Percy wasted no time digging in. Eating hadn't been one of their contests, but he was eating like it was. If anything good could come from his post-war eating disorder, it was that now that he was recovering he appreciated food more than he ever did before. However, this might also be a rushed lunch because Percy was so eager to get to their bet. "That said, I hope you're ready to do whatever I want again," he sneered after slurping up the last noodle, already envisioning his victory. Did it seem unfair to use his experience against newbie climber Leon? Perhaps, or maybe it was a compliment. He knew how tenacious Leon was. He hopped up to get his bag and equipment. "You'll probably be so distracted by the view above you, you'll forget it's a race. Get it? Because you like my butt and I'll be ahead?" He snickered as if he was a comedic genius instead of a surprisingly okay-looking nerd.

Okay, so Percy was great at a lot of things, but making smooth jokes wasn't one of them.

[wc: 741 || total: 17203]

Once the rock was chosen, Percy deemed it worthy of climbing. It looked fine to him. It honestly looked like all the other rather uniform protrusions. Because he loved Leon, and for basically only that reason, Percy gave his boyfriend a quick tutorial about the climbing equipment and how to basically protect himself from falling to death with anchors, hooks, and rope. Once he was convinced Leon had the gist of it, the real contest officially began.

What mercy he'd shown in his tutelage disappeared as soon as the competition started. Percy was still quite the beast, especially now that he'd bulked back up. He'd worked so hard, and now it really showed. In just a few seconds, the Dagger was already fifteen feet off the ground, his hands and feet slipping easily into creases and crevices seemingly too small for a good hold. It was a beautiful and oddly graceful rhythmic motion, as if he'd climbed this rock a thousand times and knew every single dip and curve. Though he tended to be reckless, he was anchoring as he went just in case. They were a bit too far away from a hospital for him to horse around too much. At least he could trust Leon not to hurt himself. He'd never known the man to have a single accident or injury aside from the arm in the war, which had been quite a different circumstance.

Muscles undulating beneath his shirt and pants, Percy raced up the side of the rock a good ways before he chanced a pause to catch his breath and check on Leon. He did wanna make sure his boyfriend was okay...and hopefully not too close. "How are you doing down there? Enjoying the view?" he huffed with a crooked grin, out of breath from all the exertions but still plenty ready to continue. Maybe Leon would just give up? What a sweet victory that would be.

Unbeknownst to them, the sensors in the tent were starting to beep and flash, indicating a change in gravity readings and some sort of new anomaly. It wasn't really detectable by the boys on the rock, but one of the huge boulders floating overhead was starting to tremble and bob.

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In an act of blatant foreshadowing, Percy tossed a smirk down at his very behind and deliciously frustrated boyfriend. "I would never give you the satisfaction," he boasted, continuing on his merry way up the steep rockface as if he was taking an after-lunch stroll. Perhaps he should have been a little insulted, but as stated before, their trash talk might as well be dirty talk.

About halfway up, their playful excursion would turn dire. The sky darkened overhead, and given how cloudless it was moments ago, it caught Percy's attention. One of the larger of the boulders, about a third of the size of the one they were climbing, had positioned itself right overhead. As he blinked up at it, it trembled and dropped about ten feet before resuming its float. It did this cycle two more times, and the last time it ear-piercingly cracked into the top of the rock they were climbing, causing a strong vibration that nearly knocked his hands out of their holds. "Leon!" he called tensely, all of his competitiveness dying on the spot. "Down. Climb down. Now!" he almost screamed, starting to repel himself.

Then it happened. Whatever gravity-defying magic or break in physics that was taking place failed on this large boulder. It entered a free fall, the trajectory and speed of which would crush both of the men into a paste before they could ever reach the ground and get out of the way. Percy stopped repelling and forgot about his safety equipment. Panic swelled within him, both for himself and for the man he loved below. Using his magic, the rock formed around and under his feet like a perch so he could have his hands free. "Flatten against the rock as much as you can!" he called down to the dark-haired man just as he lifted his arms. If he could just alter the direction slightly, it'd be enough. It shouldn't be that hard, right?

Wrong. It was so large and moving so fast, his powers weren't honed enough or strong enough to really have much command over it. The first few attempts had zero effect, much to Percy's alarm. No, he had to be able to do something! Channeling more power slowed it a little, but not enough for Leon to get clear in time. It wasn't enough to slow it or even freeze it. He had to move it! His hands and eyes glowed a brighter gold, but he trembled with the effort. Before he knew it, he was calling every ounce of his new magical power out of himself and screaming through the immense effort and pain. Blood gushed out of his nose, threatening to choke him, but that was the least of his worries. The pain in his head seared through his brain and rocketed like lightning through every vein. Still, he persisted. It had to move. He had to deflect it or they'd both die. What was the point of the questionable contract and having this power at all if he couldn't save himself and Leon? It was all his fault they were here and doing this, to begin with!

With one final roar as his magical power ran dry, the boulder started falling again, but as if it'd been kicked by an unseen force. It snapped away from the rock they were climbing, falling harmlessly about twenty feet away from them before it crashed into the ground with a terrifying quake, leaving a deep crater.

He'd done it! Percy's ragged breaths huffed in and out, and his sluggish brain had a moment to celebrate. He'd done it! Saved them both. But no, this wasn't right. His hands reached back for their secure holds, but there was no strength left and he only weakly swiped the rock. It'd be bad if he fell...when had he anchored last? He couldn't remember. He'd lost grip of the rope brake. More alarmingly, darkness was encroaching on his vision from every angle! His eyes wanted so badly to close, but he knew doing so would mean his death. This was the worst time to blackout! Yet he had no power over it, despite the panicked sparks in his brain. After a mere passing second or two after deflecting the boulder, Percy's stone foothold crumbled away with the exhaustion of his magic, as did his awareness.

An unconscious Percy plummeted toward the ground. For just a second his body jerked as the anchor below attempted to do its job and catch him, but his limp body's momentum and lack of rope brake simply snapped the safety line.

[wc: 768 || total: 19,192]