AN: This story received a sudden surge of attention lately, and I hope I can keep up with the expectations. :)
. o O o .
Chapter 8
Hiccup had to say that he quite enjoyed the sight of his sleeping boyfriend as he lay naked between the rumpled sheets. He'd been so tense lately, obsessed with researches for an additional chapter. Hiccup wondered what had prompted this since, in principle, Eret had been done with the rough outline of his book. But Eret had only reacted with an absent-minded grunt when Hiccup had asked him once, so he'd left it at that. He knew by now that Eret would gladly talk about it – when he had the mind for it.
That was one of the things that worked so wonderfully between them, after all. They could talk about everything, but they also both recognised and respected when the other needed more time to first sort through their own thoughts.
Either way, today Hiccup still planned to get Eret out of this almost gloomy mood. He crawled onto the big bed and woke his boyfriend with light caresses and a teasing mouth on his neck and shoulders. Eret reacted with a low grunt and then with pleased hums, leaning into Hiccup's touches.
"Morning," Hiccup murmured after a few minutes, grinning against warm skin. "Time to get up."
"Nooo, not yet," Eret mumbled sleepily, and turned to pull Hiccup into a kiss and an embrace that would easily lead to more. "Although, something definitely up already."
But Hiccup retreated, laughing, and shook his head. "No, no, none of that now. Come on, I have plans for today."
Eret pouted, but eventually got up and followed Hiccup into the kitchen, glancing curiously at the food his boyfriend was packing into a bag right now. "What's all this for?" he asked, gratefully accepting the mug of coffee Hiccup had already prepared for him.
"We're going out today," Hiccup declared as he stowed away the last bit of the snacks he'd prepared. "Remember the ruins you once mentioned? I asked Mrs Ingerman where exactly they are, and that's where we're going today. A field trip for you to investigate those ruins and for me to take pictures for inspiration or to draw right there. We can stay there all day," he added, nodding toward the picnic blanket.
At that, Eret's expression turned into a wide grin. He placed his mug back onto the counter and approached Hiccup with a mischievous gleam in his eyes. "We can stay outside all day, eh?" he mumbled into his ear, his broad hands gliding down Hiccup's sides and wrapping around his hips, making him shudder. "And I bet that picnic is all you've planned. Just a nice day in the sun."
He bent to nibble at Hiccup's neck, and he wasn't able to keep in a needy moan, pushing his hips forward against Eret's. But Eret retreated, chuckling.
"No, no, none of that now," he repeated Hiccup's words from before, grinning. "Better save that for later."
Hiccup groaned, but also couldn't help a renewed shudder running through his entire body. Eret knew him too well. Later meant that Eret had seen right through him, and Hiccup was reminded of how lucky he was that his boyfriend didn't mind his outdoor kink at all.
. o O o .
The ruins were just as interesting as Hiccup had suspected. They were the remains of a moated castle, standing at the end of a small and calm cove. The outer walls still reached into the sea, and there also was a small tower, standing freely amidst the water. On solid ground, many other parts of the former building were also still standing with patches of green in between, partially former gardens and partially places mother nature had reconquered over the centuries. There was one place in particular, a sunny patch of grass near a small beach within the castle's walls, that immediately drew their attention.
Without a word, Eret spread out the blanket and stretched out on it. "Yeah, I think I can stand staying here," he sighed, turning his face toward the sun. "Too bad we didn't bring our swimming kit. It's certainly warm enough and the water looks so inviting!"
"Well… I did pack towels. It's not like there's anybody around to see us," Hiccup replied as he placed the bag with Eret's laptop, his own tablet, and their camera on the ground next to the food.
Eret snorted, but didn't even open an eye to give Hiccup the smirk he knew he would get under different circumstances. "Of course you did."
The first hours of their day out passed just as lightly as planned. They roamed the old castle's ground, climbing on walls and discovering hidden spots at the most unexpected places. Eret took notes and pictures of all the things they found, cataloguing everything for later researches, while Hiccup took more pictures of the general scenes for background inspiration. Every now and then, they took breaks to eat some of the snacks, self-made bread, cheese, fruits, and Hiccup's famous banana bread. Around noon, they dozed off, the warm sunshine on their skin, and when Hiccup woke, it was to a warm body cuddling up to him, a large hand slipping beneath his tunic-style shirt.
"Are you awake yet?" Eret muttered from behind him, his hand leaving a trail of sparks on his skin that made heat pool in his lower belly.
Instead of an answer, Hiccup pushed back against where he could feel Eret already half hard against his ass. What followed was an intense playfight of groping and tugging clothes off, of pushing each other down, and of laughter and kisses. In the end, Hiccup won, though probably only because Eret let him. They both knew what being outside did to Hiccup during sex, and Eret was always eager to take this wild, almost feral side of his boyfriend.
"Fuck, Eret!" Hiccup groaned a good amount of lube and preparation later as he pushed into welcoming heat. His vision and mind were already blurry, his hands on Eret's hips to steady them both.
Beneath him, Eret gave a needy grunt as his prostate was hit, already so sensitive after Hiccup stimulating it with his fingers. He was on all fours, the best way to take Hiccup in this primal state in his opinion, but even though they'd barely started, his arms were already shaking.
It didn't take long before Hiccup lost himself to their surroundings. He couldn't say what it was, but there was just something about having sex outside; about the fresh air, the wind on sweaty skin, the scent of grass and flowers, of the sea and the earth, the sounds of rustling leaves – it all mixed into the usual experience and turned sex into something more. Soon, he lost his ability to think and only felt, the heat, the pleasure, how it all grew in intensity until his body felt on fire.
"Oh, Gods!" he grunted through gritted teeth as he felt his orgasm building, everything insight him growing tight. Eret replied with an unarticulated noise somewhere between a whine, a groan, and a shout, and it gave Hiccup the last push. He came with a primal howl, buried deeply inside Eret's twitching and clenching body.
When he came to his senses again, he was enveloped in Eret's embrace, looking up into a lazy and satisfied smile.
"Hi there. Back to human brains?" he asked teasingly, making Hiccup chuckle weakly and burrow deeper into his embrace.
"Mmh, not quite, but I'm getting there," Hiccup mumbled back. "But how are you? I'm sorry, I lost myself again, and–"
"Oh, don't be daft," Eret interrupted him, laughing, and cut him off with a kiss. "There's nothing quite like getting fucked by that animalistic side of you, and you know how much I enjoy that. No need to apologise for anything."
Hiccup hummed, but still threw a quick glance below and was relieved to find Eret soft and satisfied. Yes, outdoor sex always was an intense experience, for them both, but he still always worried about how utterly unobservant he would become.
For a while, they only kept cuddling in silence until Eret broke it. "Thank you for this day out," he sighed. "I really needed that."
Hiccup only nodded, waited for him to continue.
"I've… I've been too obsessed with this thing lately. Remind me to stick to my original opinion and trust in my instincts in the future."
"I will. What were all your researches about anyway?"
Eret let out a weak laugh, sounding almost embarrassed. "It was… well, it was about the Undine."
With a low grunt, Hiccup retreated to look at Eret, checking whether he was serious. With how vehemently he'd turned down this specific topic over and over, this was probably what Hiccup had expected the least.
"Yeah, I know what you want to say, H. 'Wasn't it you who always told me it's nothing but a weird fairy tale, not even worth thinking about it twice?' It's just... How we sometimes lose entire hours without remembering them." He gave a helpless shrug. "It's strange. I don't have an explanation for that, so I thought… well, I thought it wouldn't hurt to look what this local legend even was about."
"And what did you find?" Hiccup asked, half worried and half amused.
Eret just snorted though. "Nothing. Nothing that makes sense, at least," he grunted. "There's the story Mrs Ingerman told us, about that boy who died, and I've heard the same story from others in the village too. One elderly man even claimed that one of his ancestors had seen her. A beautiful woman wandering through the village in the middle of the night. That's apparently what started all the other stories, because a stranger in the middle of the night obviously can only be an evil spirit." He snorted and shook his head. "And since then, the Undine gets the blame for every accident and every misfortune, be it a stillborn child or just someone losing their keys. There isn't even an explanation for who or what she is, where she comes from, or what she wants. It makes no sense. Usually, such legends have a more… more decorated core, you know? Something more substantial. More details and background, another source than just 'a woman was seen as she walked through the night'. It's so flimsy compared to other legends I've heard."
Hiccup nodded. He understood what Eret meant, had heard about enough other legends to see the difference. "So, then you don't believe in the Undine anymore?"
Again, Eret snorted and rolled his eyes at his boyfriend. "I wouldn't say that I ever believed in her. You should know me better than that by now."
Hiccup hummed in agreement. Eret was too practical and too grounded to believe in the supernatural. Yes, he researched the old legends and treated them with respect when he talked about them in his book, but that didn't mean that he believed in them. "What changed your mind then? To look into it in the first place, I mean?"
Eret gave a little shrug. "I guess I was hoping to find some answers. I mean, there is something out there. There has to be some explanation as to why we lose track of entire hours all of a sudden. It's not just you, after all, not just one person, but two. And something like that never happened to us before. I thought it might be some… some hallucinogenic gas leaking from the earth, or something. Or an intense magnetic field that plays tricks on our minds. Just anything. But even if it was something like that… that doesn't explain why it would affect us so strongly."
"Maybe the general population here is more used to it by now?" Hiccup offered as a possible explanation. Personally, he was fine with accepting it all to be the doing of a sentient water spirit, but he knew that Eret felt differently and Hiccup enjoyed throwing ideas around with him.
But Eret shook his head. "That would be a possible explanation," he admitted. "If it wasn't for the fact that tourists generally stay entirely unaffected by this, by the Undine. No, not even that makes sense. I should have just left it be, because none of it makes sense!"
In a way, Hiccup would have liked to keep talking about this topic. It was the first time Eret didn't just ward it off as complete nonsense, after all. But he respected his boyfriend's wish for a change of topic. "Maybe you're just overworked and after today everything will be clearer again. Anyway, how about we go swimming before the sun gets down? Because having brought those towels for no reason would be a shame."
It didn't take any more convincing after that. With the days getting longer and warmer, they'd both been eager to go for a swim in the ocean, and this secluded place was just perfect; no too strong waves or hidden currents, with only calm clear water, the tower, and interesting rock formations. For nearly an hour, they stayed in the cool water, swimming around the rocks, diving along the old castle walls, and picking up a couple of pretty shells. Hiccup nearly died of laughter during a water fight that left them both panting and grinning, and that ended with a passionate kiss which left them even more breathless. Hiccup greatly enjoyed the taste of salty water on Eret as he went down on him, with Eret's hands clawing into the damp beach as he came since they'd not even made it back to their blanket.
All in all, it was a great day. And when Eret said so too as they snuggled under their blanket that night, Hiccup couldn't help the satisfied grin. This was it, the life they had been looking for. Not free of work, but free of obligations and expectations, free to divide their time as they chose, and free to be with each other in whatever way they wished. And it made him happy.
. o O o .
When her humans had left their construction shortly after dawn, she'd followed them along the coast and to the other, much older construction. This one was even older than she was, from the time of her predecessor or even earlier still. There had always been one like her in these waters, after all.
The creature couldn't help but smile as she watched them all day long. Even though she had to keep a little more distance in the calmer waters, she still saw how happy they were, and that made her happy in return. Their behaviour didn't make much sense to her, sometimes wild like a storm and then calm like a breeze only a few moments later. She paid close attention as she watched them that day, trying to understand and to learn. And even though she understood barely anything of what they did, she couldn't smother the wish to join them.
She wanted to climb those walls too, an exercise so different from swimming that she could barely wrap her head around it. She wanted to taste the food they obviously enjoyed so much, not being used to eating herself aside from what the light and the water provided her with. She wanted to feel the sun on her skin, even as the memory of said skin forming around her still made her shudder. She wanted to know how it felt to touch and be touched. She knew how a rock felt when she leaned on it, but another living being would certainly feel differently – and also different from when a fish accidentally swam through her.
When they eventually entered her world beneath the ocean's surface, she couldn't make herself stay away from them, though. She was careful not to poke her head over the calm surface and also made sure to stay behind rocks so they wouldn't spot her vague face floating around. But still, she stayed close, swimming around them in circles and enjoying their presence.
That night, she watched their small construction with an entirely new feeling. Being so close to them had given her a thrill. It had been exciting and wonderful, and she'd deeply missed their warm trail when they eventually ventured back onto solid ground. However, she felt as if part of the warmth she'd witnessed all day was still there, in and around her, making her mind tremble with joy. And she hoped that, with the warmer season coming, she would get the chance to do something like this more often.
She didn't fool herself though. Today, the memory of tight skin trapping her might have been enough to keep her in the water – but it was only a matter of time before her curiosity got the better of her.
. o O o .
Uh-oh... I wonder how that will turn out...