They walked quietly to the skate park, Oswald taking his Penguin skateboard from Murphy as they walked down the street. No one paid them any attention as they walked along, until they finally got there.
Oswald followed Murphy up to the front desk, surprised there was a turnstile to let them in. "You have to pay to get in?" He whispered to Murphy.
"Hey, it's not like they could build and maintain an indoor skate park without funding," Murphy pointed out. "Don't worry; I've got this." Oddly, he was already starting to feel better. Hearing Oswald protest about Murphy spending money somehow felt like a return to normalcy. He'd checked out the place, "GC Sk8park," beforehand and knew the pricing: $20 each for a session, or $70 for a monthly membership. When they reached the turnstile, he shelled out cash for a one-day session for both of them, since Oswald would probably explode if Murphy tried to buy him a membership now. But if he ended up having fun, Murphy would insist on getting him a membership later.
They got inside and since school had started again there were very few people in the park. Which was just fine with Oswald. "We couldn't have started out on an empty street or something?" Oswald asked putting his skateboard down, making sure it didn't roll away with his foot.
Murphy shook his head. "You know how poorly maintained Gotham streets are. Especially empty ones. Not level at all, tons of cracks and potholes… not great for a beginner to learn to skate on. You want to start skating on a smoother surface, so you can focus on getting the hang of it instead of constantly looking out for things that can throw you off balance."
"Okay then Teach." He said kicking his skateboard over to a flat area. "Teach me." He said looking at the few that were already in the park, going off ramps and rails doing tricks that seemed impossible to someone who hadn't even stood on one before.
"Hey," Murphy said, following Oswald's gaze to some of the more experienced skaters. "Remember, every single one of them started out with exactly the amount of skill that you have right now. So, the first thing you'll want to know is how to position your feet on the board and get your balance." He showed Oswald about how far apart his feet should be on the board. "Bear in mind that whichever foot you have forward is going to stay on the board, and whichever foot is in the back is the one you'll push off with to move. You'll want to push off pretty much immediately; it'll be easier to keep your balance in motion. Start off relatively slow at first, to get a feel for it."
Oswald did as he was instructed, placing his foot nervously on the front of the board, a little bit further forward than he should have. Murphy corrected him and Oswald adjusted his footing. As instructed he pushed off with his foot, placing it on the board, his arms flailing as he tried to maintain his balance a moment before the skateboard flew out from under him and he landed hard on his back, the skateboard hitting the wall a few feet away.
Murphy winced as Oswald hit the ground, and went to offer him a hand. "You alright there? Don't worry; that wasn't any worse than my first try."
Oswald stood up without Murphy's hand and went to fetch the skateboard. "I'm fine!" He grumbled as he kicked the skateboard back over. They remained at the park for a full three hours, by the end of it Oswald was skating decently on a flat surface, but it seemed as soon as he hit any kind of bump in the floor, he panicked, flailed and landed on his face … or ass …. or back … To be honest after the three hour run, Oswald was bruised and sore in places he didn't know he had.
"You're doing a lot better," Murphy said. "It's mostly lack of confidence that's getting to you now; every time you hit a bump, you're panicking. If you push off again instead, that can help with your balance." At this point, Oswald had already made a lot of progress for a beginner, and Murphy was frankly impressed with the persistence he was showing, considering that he hadn't wanted to try this from the beginning.
"Yeah well forgive me for flailing when I'm falling." He said. At least he hadn't been laughed at as much as he thought he was going to be. "I do want to go home and take a hot bath though, my back is killing me."
"I'd say you've more than earned it," Murphy said, smiling slightly. "You've made plenty of progress for one day. And don't think I haven't noticed what a good sport you've been, putting up with my whims today, when this definitely wouldn't have been your choice of activity. I really do appreciate that."
By the time they got home it was nearing dinner, Oswald pulled his hoodie over his head and tossed it onto the couch. He paused on the way to the bathroom and kissed Murphy.
"How hard would it be to convince you to make me supper?" He asked, pecking his lips again, grateful that it was Thursday and his mother was at her sister's.
Murphy smiled. "I think I can do that," he said. "Anything in particular you'd like?" He'd never gotten a chance to make dinner for Oswald before, since Gertrud always insisted on doing all the cooking. Though that wasn't the only reason he was glad they had the apartment to themselves tonight.
"Surprise me." He said pulling off his shirt and heading to the bath area. Oswald had long since become comfortable with Murphy seeing his scars ... Seeing him naked ... It no longer bothered him to remove his clothing. In fact Murphy hardly had to ask anymore.
"Will do," said Murphy, glancing after Oswald as he took his shirt off, enjoying the view. "You know, if you leave your pants too, I could put them in the laundry for you," he said in a completely innocent tone.
Oswald picked up a candy out of the candy bowl on his mother's table as he walked past. He turned and chucked it at Murphy, continuing around the corner to the bath area.
"Nice try." Oswald said laughing as he twisted the taps until the water ran the right temperature.
"Can you blame me?" Murphy sighed, before heading to the kitchen. "I'll just get them later, then," he called after him. "You'll have to take them off some time!"
Murphy looked through the fridge and pantry, glancing over what was available to work with. The food situation had gotten better since Oswald had started working and Murphy had started actually getting to keep his own income. Even though Gertrud hadn't let him help cook, he'd insisted on at least contributing toward groceries, since he was staying here. He selected a few ingredients and set to work, throwing together a simple casserole.
Oswald removed his pants and underwear as the water neared a decent height. He loved this old bathtub. It was nice and deep and he could fill it as far as he wanted because it didn't have a drain valve.
He stepped into the water wincing at how hot it was at first, but once he sank in his body started to get used to it and he laid back against the back.
Once Murphy had everything in the oven ready to go, and had put away the spices and cleaned up the kitchen, he glanced at the kitchen timer… they still had a while before it would be finished cooking. After a moment, he went into the bathroom, moving past the curtain that separated it from the other room. Not that it was really providing much privacy at the moment, since it had been left pinned open, even closed it was lacy and quite a bit see-through. Oswald seemed far less self-conscious around him than he had been previously. He looked pointedly at where Oswald had left his pants and underwear. "I told you you'd have to take them off some time," he said, smirking slightly.
"Well I wasn't about to bathe with them on now was I?" He asked, raising his hand out of the water and flicking some at Murphy.
Murphy gave him a mock-offended look for flicking water at him. "True, that wouldn't be terribly practical," he acknowledged, making his way to the other end of the tub. "Anyway," he said, starting to massage Oswald's shoulders. "Dinner should be ready in another twenty minutes. Is there anything else I can do for you?"
Oswald moaned quietly as he started to rub his shoulders. It felt good after what they had done today. "You're doing it." Oswald said, his eyes closing.
"You do have a lot of tension in your shoulders," Murphy noticed, continuing to massage Oswald's back. "Today wasn't that bad, was it?" He started kissing lightly down the side of Oswald's neck.
"I suppose not ... Though I'm sure you can think of a way to make me feel better." He said a sly smirk on his face.
"Hmm … A few ideas come to mind," Murphy said. He loved seeing that smirk on Oswald's face, loved those rare moments when he seemed so sure of himself. Murphy had gotten to see that side of him a little more often lately. "Of course, I never seem to run out of ideas around you." He worked at massaging Oswald's shoulders for awhile longer, until he was satisfied that he'd relieved the worst of the tension there, before his hands started to wander over Oswald's chest, then into the water and gradually further down.
Oswald looked back at Murphy as he lowered his hands into the water down his stomach, his cock already stiff under the water.
"Really?" Oswald asked. "You'll have to demonstrate a few of these ideas you have."
Murphy's hands continued to move downward until he found Oswald's hardening cock. He smiled. "It seems like you might have some of the same ideas already." His right hand wrapped around Oswald's shaft, and began stroking slowly from base to tip, his left hand lightly caressing Oswald's balls. "I suspect that you actually have a much dirtier mind than you've let on."
"I'll have you know I was a perfectly innocent virgin before I met you." He said leaning back to kiss him. "So whose fault is that?"
Murphy leaned forward, kissing Oswald back, still continuing to stroke his cock under the warm water, his own cock starting to harden in his pants. He broke the kiss, looking back down at him with a smirk and said: "Yes, I guess I'm to blame for that… though I've never heard you complain before. If I'm such a bad influence, though, would you prefer that I stop?"
"Murphy, if you stop, I may have to get out of this tub. And it's very nice in here. Perhaps you should join me." He said with a wicked smirk on his face as his hand ran down Murphy's arm, his hand going over his as he stroked him. A sudden click at the front door made Oswald jump as the door opened. He saw his mother walk in and let go of Murphy's hand, his eyes widened in shock.
"Oswald." Gertrud called into the very open concept apartment, her back turned towards the bathroom. Oswald cursed under his breath that they did not have an enclosed bathroom and looked at Murphy.
Murphy froze when he heard the door open, a string of curse words running through his head in a panicked jumble. She hadn't seen them yet … but there was no way to get out of the bathroom without her seeing that he'd been in there, and no way to hide that Oswald was currently sitting naked in the bath tub. Nor could he think of a convincing explanation for this … But at the very least, he should get his hands off of Oswald's cock before Gertrud turned around. He thought about withdrawing his hands slowly, so that she wouldn't hear, but every second he remained with his hands in the bathtub was another second that Gertrud might turn around and find them in this compromising position. He quickly stood up straight, folding his hands behind his back to hide the fact that his forearms were completely soaked. He only hoped that his partial erection wasn't too obvious … at least the pants he was wearing were a loose enough fit that she might not notice.
Gertrud looked around the apartment. "Oswald I-" She froze when she saw Murphy standing near her son who was sitting bare in the bathtub. The smile faded from her face, replaced with a look of both disgust and confusion. "What ... What is going on here? What is this, a grown man in the bathroom while you bathe?"
"That … does seem a little peculiar when you put it that way," Murphy admitted with an apologetic look. "I just needed to talk to him about something important that couldn't wait. We were just done talking, though, when you got back." Which even he thought was a fairly lame excuse, but then Gertrud came in here to talk to Oswald when he was bathing all the time, and Murphy had never once commented on how weird that was. Gertrud seemed to have different ideas of personal space than most people did anyway… even if those notions only applied to her. Maybe, if he acted like this wasn't a big deal, she would let it go. "Sorry about the awkwardness."
"He was just telling me that I'm needed at work right away. I wasn't answering the phone so Miss. Mooney sent him to come fetch me ..." He said as Gertrud looked between them. She didn't seem fully convinced, and she had noticed water droplets falling to the floor behind Murphy but no ... No, no, her son would never do such a horrid thing ... Would never allow another man to ... To ... And Oswald would never lie to her ... She forced a smile onto her face.
"Well then ... You had best hurry. Murphy you go ahead and wait downstairs, it's safer if you boys walk to work together. Oswald, I will get your suit for you." She said tsking at the clothing strewn around the apartment. "Leaving your clothes everywhere again Oswald ... Like you did when you were a tiny boy!" She said picking up his hoodie and looking at it. "What kind of clothing is this? You dressing like some hoodlum?"
"They're for skateboarding," Murphy admitted, leaving the bathroom. He didn't know how Gertrud would react to skateboarding; there were still an inordinate number of people who thought of it as a delinquent activity, but it was better than whatever else she might be assuming. Anyway, it might distract Gertrud from the bathtub scandal, and he felt like he'd already lied to the poor old woman enough for one conversation. "Thought it would be best if he didn't ruin any of his work suits skating."
"Murphy do-" Oswald tried to stop him but it was too late.
"Skateboarding?!" Gertrud practically shrieked. "What is this? You went skateboarding? Oswald, you know how dangerous that is! I don't want you going anymore!" She said before turning on Murphy. "And you! Filling my son's head with ideas! He was a normal boy before you showed up and now he's ... He's ... He does all these things because of you! Out all the time when he's not working, skateboarding!"
Murphy winced. He'd clearly miscalculated just how strongly she would disapprove of skateboarding. He should have gone with his first instinct and said they were for working out. But it was too late for that now.
"I'm sorry, ma'am," he said hastily trying to salvage the situation. At this rate, he'd be lucky if he was welcome back in the apartment after this. "Neither of us meant to worry you. But he wasn't doing any tricks or anything dangerous like that." Admittedly, Murphy himself might have shown him a few at one point to show off a little, but Gertrud didn't need to know that. "And we didn't skate anywhere unsafe, and it's really a very normal hobby these days, it's good exercise, and safer than a lot of other sports..." He shook his head and gave her is most contrite look. "But we really should have asked if it was okay with you first. I'm sorry; if you don't want him skateboarding, then there'll be no more skateboarding."
Gertrud picked up a rolled up magazine that was held together with an elastic band she used to swat the occasional fly that got into the apartment. She swatted Murphy with the magazine. "Out ... Out! You wait downstairs! Let my Oswald change, he has work to get to!" She said still swatting him with the magazine.
"Mother! Stop that!" Oswald said annoyed. Gertrud ignored him and kept swatting Murphy.
"Out!"
"Yes ma'am, I'm going," Murphy said hastily, hurrying for the door. Whenever little old ladies started brandishing household items, it was always best to stop arguing with them. "I'll um … see you downstairs, Oswald," he said at the door, quickly closing it behind him in case Gertrud decided to continue swatting him all the way down the stairs.
Gertrud turned to Oswald and brought him a towel. "I am glad Murphy is your friend Oswald ..." She said as he got out of the tub, grateful that his erection had practically gone away when she'd walked in, and was fully gone by the time she started swatting Murphy. "But you have to be careful ... I am starting to suspect he's a bit ... Odd." She said moving to fetch his suit. "There is no place in God's world for people such as him. He is a nice boy, but you will see ..." She said hanging up his suit for him. "I do not want to see you fall into such a crowd! Those heathens ..." She said as she turned from Oswald as if she were going to start crying.
"Mother..." Oswald said as he pulled his pants on. "There's nothing-"
"I know, I know you would not fall into such ways ... You will find a nice wife one day ..." she said patting his cheek with her hand. "One day ... But not anytime soon."
Oswald forced a smile onto his face. "After all, what is a boy without his mother?" She asked. Oswald felt like he was going to be sick. He hated lying to her ... But he knew she would not accept him being with Murphy.
"I'm going to be late ..." He said quietly. Gertrud perked up, her hands going up into the air.
"Of course, you get ready I will make you a bag for supper!" She said bustling into the kitchen.