The first indication Nick had that this anomaly site wasn't as conveniently placed for humans as most of the others had been was when he stepped out of the anomaly and slammed directly into Stephen's back. There was nothing to stop Stephen from stumbling forward unchecked, and all Nick could do as Stephen's arm slipped through his grasp was watch as Stephen slid down the bank and toward the rushing water below.
But instead of falling gracelessly into the river like Nick doubtlessly would have, Stephen grabbed onto a bush growing out of the river bank and used it to halt his downward slide in a move that would have Connor calling him by obscure superhero names for weeks after they got back. Nick—once he could breathe again—had to admit he was pretty impressed, too.
The way Stephen's arms flexed and strained as he struggled to find and keep his balance had nothing to do with Nick's appreciation at all.
Right. He'd just keep telling himself that and maybe one day he'd believe it.
Stephen sputtered as he tried unsuccessfully to wipe the slime off his cheek with an only slightly less mud-covered hand. The expression on his face was a cross between disgust and the exasperated, slightly amused looks he gave students who wasted his time asking obvious questions in blatant attempts at flirtation.
The adrenaline that had flooded Nick's body seemed to disperse all at once, leaving him weak-kneed with relief that Stephen was all right, albeit very muddy, that he couldn't help it. He laughed so hard that his sides hurt, and Stephen—beautiful, gorgeous Stephen, who seemed to be covered from head to foot in mud—just grinned at him.
Nick finally gave in and sat down on a nearby rock as the laughter rolled over him—he hadn't laughed this hard since before they'd found the first anomaly. It felt as if a great weight had been lifted, and he was finally free of everything they'd dealt with since the first anomaly appeared.
Stephen looked up at him from under eyelashes that were miraculously mud-free. "I'm glad you find this funny," His teeth were almost blindingly bright in contrast to his muck-covered visage. "A little help, please?"
Nick smiled in return, a genuine, happy smile that he could feel all the way down to his toes. He looked away, trying to find something long enough to help him pull Stephen up the hillside without getting dragged down himself. His gaze fell on a nearby tree. "Have you got your pocket knife?"
Stephen dug the knife out of his pocket and tossed it up, landing it neatly at Nick's feet. Nick picked it up and started hacking at one of the branches of the—he thought it was probably a ginkgo. The broad leaves were almost soft to the touch, their fan shape ideally suited to catching as much of the high volume of carbon dioxide—
"—tter! Nick!"
Stephen's shout jerked him back to the present and he looked down at Stephen, who was kneeling in the mud with one hand wrapped around several branches of the bush that had saved him from an ignominious dunking, the other clenching and unclenching at his side, like he was trying to shake off a minor injury. He had that very familiar exasperated-yet-fond look on his face, which meant it wasn't the first time he'd tried to get Nick's attention.
"Fondle the tree later, after you've got me out of here. I'd rather not take a chance with whatever might be down here any longer than I already have."
Nick finished hacking the branch off the tree and moved back towards the river bank. He lowered the other end of the branch, careful not to push Stephen into the river. Stephen grabbed it with one hand and used the other to balance himself as he scrabbled up the incline. Nick grasped Stephen's free hand as he neared the top and pulled, leaning back to counterbalance Stephen's weight. Keeping a hold on Stephen was tricky, but he made it back onto solid ground without either of them ending up in the river.
Though apparently Stephen had brought half of the muddy river bank up with him and decided to share it. Nick heard Stephen snicker as Nick wiped the mud on his hands off on a nearby fern.
"People pay good money for this sort of thing at spas, you know," Stephen said with a smile.
Nick grinned. "Though I'm told they usually do it minus the clothes."
"There is that." Stephen grimaced as he looked down at himself. "Well, since we don't know if we're going to be stuck here for a while, I'm going to assume we are and try to get these clean enough to wear for an extended time. And we need drinkable water without anything swimming in it that's easy to get to, just in case."
In tandem, they looked up and down the river, then back at each other. Stephen dug a coin out of his pocket and flipped it. "Heads."
"Up river it is, then."
Stephen cocked his head in that direction, a question on his face, and Nick shrugged in agreement, knowing they had little choice at the moment. Stephen started making his way in that direction, Nick following closely behind, carefully watching to make sure they didn't have a repeat of earlier events.
"We'll need to stay close in case the anomaly opens again soon," Stephen said as he pushed through a stand of saplings. "It must've closed right behind you, if nobody else made it through. It may be of much shorter duration than we're used to."
"I just hope no one was in it when it closed." Nick was panting slightly with the effort of walking in this environment; the thin air and dry heat were making it harder to breathe. He felt like he had on their last trip to Montana for a dig: light-headed, thirsty, and slow. Stephen was moving more slowly than usual, too, though Nick didn't know if that was for his benefit or if Stephen was as affected by the lower oxygen content as he was.
Five minutes later—most of it spent scrambling over and through the detritus of an untouched forest—they stumbled upon a clearing near a small, beautiful waterfall.
Despite the impression Nick had had that Stephen was covered in mud from head to foot, the tails of his over shirt were only slightly dirty from where they'd dragged through the muck. As Stephen stripped off his T-shirt next, Nick could see that it seemed to have escaped largely unscathed as well, but the jeans were a lost cause. Nick was surprised Stephen had been able to walk at all, given the amount of mud that seemed to have worked its way into the worn denim. They were so heavy they dropped to the ground without assistance the moment Stephen removed his belt. Shoes, socks, and boxers soon joined the discarded shirts and belt, but Stephen took the jeans with him as he made way gingerly closer to the waterfall, proceeding along what looked like a well-used track behind the water.
Nick moved just close enough to make sure that Stephen wasn't in any danger, despite knowing he was more than capable of taking care of himself, and perched on a nearby rock to look down at the river.
"See if you can get more water out of these while I get the rest of the mud off me, would you?" Stephen's quiet directive interrupted his reverie, but only because Nick was used to listening for his comments while they worked. He could tune everyone else out, but even Stephen's softest tone of voice had always commanded his attention with little effort. It made it very easy to leave mundane details at work to Stephen to decide what merited his attention and what didn't, which made dealing with students and their theories bearable.
"Sure, I'll see what I can do."
Stephen flashed a smile as he tossed the jeans into Nick's waiting hands, then turned back to rinsing off.
Nick's breath caught. Stephen was standing under the edge of the waterfall, far enough in to wash away the mud, but not close enough that the full force of the rushing water could sweep him onto the rocks below. He turned up his face up to meet the water, eyes closed and a look on his face that Nick could only describe as blissful. Long fingers parted the dark strands of hair as he raked his hands through it, making it stick up at all angles as he took a step back.
Nick watched as Stephen's strong hands made their way down his lithe body, smoothing over his arms and chest, checking for cuts and any mud that had worked its way under his clothes, rinsing them away with handfuls of water splashed on his skin.
Desire curled like a flame in Nick's chest as he drank in Stephen's sinuous movements, revelling in the way Stephen's glorious body shone in the late afternoon sunlight.
Nick dragged his gaze away from Stephen and looked down at the jeans held tightly in his grasp, water dripping from the soaked denim onto his own khakis. He twisted the fabric, trying to wring the water out as best he could, but it was unlikely they'd be comfortable to wear any time soon. He kept his focus on the jeans as he heard Stephen make his way back to the rest of his clothes, but he couldn't help looking up again after he'd passed by.
"There aren't any leeches on me, are there?"
Nick blinked, dragging his focus up from Stephen's bum and back to his face. Stephen was looking at him over his shoulder as he finished dragging his boxers back on, sporting a grin that said Nick had definitely been caught staring, and it definitely wasn't a problem.
"Not that I can see." He gave Stephen a hopeful look. "But there might be some in hiding."
"I'd let you check first-hand," Stephen's grin turned rueful, "if I didn't have the worst feeling that the troops are going to come rushing through the anomaly the second it reopens."
Nick watched as the muscles flexed on Stephen's torso and arms as he pulled his T-shirt over his head, sparking a warmth low in Nick's belly. "With our luck, that'd be the minute we were otherwise occupied."
Stephen's soft laugh made him smile, and he took the hand Stephen offered and let himself be pulled up.
"Inevitably. Best not start anything we can't finish here then."
Nick leaned forward until their foreheads met as Stephen's broad, cool hand cupped the nape of his neck. They stood there silently for a moment, and a sense of utter contentment filled Nick as he realized this change in their relationship would be every bit as easy as the start of their friendship had been. He slid his free hand around Stephen's waist and shifted until they were pressed firmly together. Stephen tilted his head and closed the remaining distance between their mouths, and Nick opened up easily, putting all the warmth and affection and need he felt into the kiss, and Stephen returned it. They broke apart when they heard the very distinctive sounds of someone—probably Connor—screeching and splashing as he fell into the river down by the anomaly.
"You're a menace," Nick sighed against the skin of Stephen's neck, "and a jinx."
Stephen's chuckle sent a shiver down his spine as they moved apart. Nick gathered up Stephen's remaining clothes while Stephen quickly got his socks and shoes back on before wrapping his over shirt around the folded wet jeans and tucking them under one arm.
As they started making their way back toward the anomaly site, Stephen stopped Nick with a hand on his arm. "Faster we make it back down there," he said with a wink, "the faster we can actually do something interesting."
"Sounds good," Nick replied, "I'll even let you take the first shower."
"I've got a better idea," Stephen said, his voice low and seductive, "let's share."
In Just-
spring when the world is mud-
luscious
Veronica is a lifesaver. I'm just sayin'. (*Mwah* Thanks, sweetie!)
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