"No jus' seriously," Scout piped up irritably to Sniper's dismay, "fuck Australia a'ight. It's fuckin' hot Snipes. It's so fuckin' hot and everythin' wants ta kill ya." The statement didn't register with the man currently lying on the linoleum floor of the camper, using his akubra as a makeshift fan. It doesn't help though. Just blows stifling hot air into his already sweating face. They both had stripped down to barely anything by this point. It was too hot for clothes right now. It had been too hot for anything. The camper's door had been opened in the hope to let cool air in but humid gusts made themselves welcome in the setting. Scout shifted uncomfortably in the booth, his skin sticking to the leather of the seat. The heat of the Australian summer in the outback had drained the energy from Scout, but it wasn't enough to stop his complaining.
'Yo Snipes." He starts as he gathers enough strength to sit up. No answer. It looks like the damn heat has taken another victim. Sniper lies with the hat on his face. A soft snore can be heard emanating from said hat. Clicking his dry tongue with annoyance. Scout could still taste this morning's cornflakes in the back of his throat. He swallows in an attempt to wash away the thickness in his throat. It proves futile as it increases his desire for water. With an exasperated sigh he leans back into the too-warm-for-comfort seat of the booth whilst hiking a leg onto the table. He too tries to sleep into what would later be the cool of the afternoon but instead is surprised to feel something tickling his leg.
He opens his eyes to the sight of a great big dirty spider pawing at his leg hairs. The most girlish, high-pitched squeal emanates from Scout as he kicks desperately to get the hairy thing the fuck off his leg. It panics as well as it scuttles towards what is presumably the safe confines of Scout's boxers. An even louder scream resonates through the camper as Sniper jolts forward to hit his head on the table. His blurred vision lands on Scout who points almost pleadingly at the spider currently holding on for dear life on this impromptu rodeo.
"GET IT OFF GET IT OFF GET IT OFF" Scout screams at the groaning Sniper. Almost fluidly the older man whisks the spider into his clasped hands. The effect is almost immediate but Scout is still whispering his mantra of 'get it off' and 'jesus fucking shit me on a banana'. Sniper opens his hands to peek at his captive. He deadpans before offering only this:
"Bloody hell it's jus' a baby." Sniper shakes his head before setting it down on the door frame. The other is still blubbering about spiders and cursing Australia for having so many. The spider, now safe, scuttles outside only to burst into flame from the sun's rays. Sniper stands in awe of the spontaneous combustion, slipping his shades back on. He turns slowly to the boy whom now has retreated to the bunker with a sheet shielding him from any further creepy crawlies. Apologetically, Sniper rubs Scout's back.
"I hate everythin'." the sheets muffle out. Sniper shrugs and retreats to the floor again. It's still hot. Scout bursts from his sweaty cotton prison. He clicks his tongue again.
"Water?"
"Yea' that'd be great."
Sniper shuffles up to where the water canteen hangs and throws it to Scout. The boy is quick to open it up and hold it eagerly to his parched lips. Tepid water takes the bitterness from under his tongue leaves a metallic after taste. He's thankful and drains the last of it. Begrudgingly he replaces the cap and drops it onto the kitchenette with an empty clunk. He climbs down onto the linoleum with Sniper and lies on top of the burning skin of his lover. "It's too hot, an' I don't like competition." he rasps into Sniper's neck. He earns a chuckle.
Pushing Scout off, Sniper springs to his feet with surprising energy, almost hitting the table again. "I hav' an idea." he quickly says, making his way to the driver's seat of the camper. Scout follows. After a few laboured coughs, the hulking beast of a truck starts with a bang. The broken air-conditioning blasts hot air into their faces. It doesn't matter as the truck collects speed and the landscape starts to whip by. Scout leans out the side, savouring the speed and cool air rushing against his skin.
Old white gums rush past on the endless red soil roads and dead grass. A few termite mounds can be seen dotting the horizon like malformed pillars. A dead kangaroo rots on the side of the road with hawks circling its corpse. A sea of cloudless blue sky connects to the wavering heat wave in the distance. It looks as if its melting the sky and the land together. The smell of bleeding eucalyptus saturates the air with its sweet scent. Sniper drinks it in as if to memorise every little bit. Scout however is oblivious to most of this and lets the sensation of flying fill his soul.
The truck rolls to a stop and the two men exit out of the camper. Scout stretches his sore muscles to behold a sight he didn't think existed in the middle of goddamn nowhere.
"That's a freakin' lak-" Scout manages as Sniper sweeps him into a fireman's hold running towards the water. He's laughing like a maniac as Scout shouts at him to check for any crocodiles first before he's going in that watery death trap. There's no compliance though. Sniper practically tosses the youth into the water like a skipping stone. The water bathes them in its cold depths, a nice change from the blistering heat of midday. Spluttering and gasping he grabs for Sniper and pushes him down in too. They wrestle like this until the sun sets well into the early twilight. Exhausted they sit in the shallow with arms wrapped around each other in a wet embrace. It's light enough to see Sniper's face smiling honestly at Scout's glee. Euphoric might be a better term to explain it. They lay there, just laughing and feeling the other's faces, lips, heartbeats until the Milky Way lit up the clear sky in a show of eternal cosmic movement of glimmering lights.
Back in the van, Scout groaned in the dim of the torchlight. His white skin had burned to a deep blushing red. Oh course, not even the aussie was safe as he too had burned to a crisp. Scout strained his aching muscles and the burns ignited once more. He groaned again against the cotton sheets, fisting them tightly as Sniper's hand rubbed a smelly ointment onto his back. Aloe Vera, the Sniper had supplied earlier. A strange looking plant with even stranger yellowish-green sap oozing from its cut flesh. It was slightly soothing, but only until it dried against his scorching body. Scout murmured a quiet thanks and sat up to face Sniper once more. The other is busy with wiping the weird plant over his own burns. Scout tenderly leans over planting a kiss on his lover's shoulder. He tastes the Aloe Vera on his lips and tries wiping it away on the back of his hand. But Sniper has already taken the hint and his hand gives Scout's thigh a squeeze.
The heat he felt sure wasn't from sunburn.