Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea Chap 7/18

[pdglyph.livejournal.com]

Chapter 7

They landed without a problem, Ryan having slept through the whole flight without the troubles of layovers, and was goggling happily at everything they passed. He insisted on changing clothes, since the place was much more humid than LA, so Colin consented and sat with the bags until Ryan came back out, dressed in truly monstrous Florida tourist clothes. He even put a stripe of zinc oxide across his nose.

Colin burst out laughing as Ryan approached with a cheeky grin on his face. “What the hell are you doing?” he asked as he took in the loud Hawaiian shirt, cargo shorts, tube socks and sandals, and the huge straw hat.

Ryan chuckled, blushing faintly. “Well, I’ve never been to Florida, and I’ve seen that they dress like this down here,” he said primly, despite the giggles and stares he was attracting, from Colin and everyone passing by, “So hey. Now they’ll think I’m a native and you will stick out like a sore thumb,”

“I’ll survive,” Colin said dryly, grinning widely despite himself and moving them forward through the gates to collect their rental car and get out of here.

Ryan pursed his lips, smiling despite himself. Seeing Colin laugh that hard was most definitely the only reason he was wearing this crap. Thankfully, it all came off. If only Colin had the inclination to help, then, Ryan was sure, the clothes would come off faster than he’d ever previously thought possible.

But enough of that, because they were on their way out of the damn hell zone/airport, and Ryan was determined to enjoy the first ‘vacation’ he’d had in years.

He watched the world pass him by outside the window of the car, marveling at how different yet similar Florida was to Santa Barbara. They were both beach-centered, but this place was somehow more clear, a little brighter… maybe because they didn’t have a cold front blowing in off the sea and keeping all the LA crap in. “This place is amazing,” Ryan sighed.

“Isn’t it?” Colin smiled, stopping at a stop light. He pointed out a little shop he’d went to when he’d vacationed here some years ago. “They serve the best sea food,”

“I’m not really into fish,” Ryan winced, thinking back to a bad sushi accident.

“Oh, you’d like them, trust me,” Colin said fervently as the light turned green, letting them continue on their merry way. “The crab? Positively dripping with butter? It’s heaven,”

Ryan raised his eyebrows at the look on Colin’s face as he talked about the butter dripping everywhere as he ate but it being so good you didn’t even notice. He looked out the window, pondering how butter could all the sudden sound so very, very sexy when they turned and the warf was suddenly there.

Hundreds of schooners and dingy’s and huge, expensive looking boats were tied alongside tugboats, fisherman’s trolley’s and sailboats. Colin stopped and parked, grinning at Ryan before getting out of the car and popping the trunk, getting their stuff out before Ryan had a chance to look at anything but the boats.

There were so many! How the hell would they be able to get out?

His bag was held out to him, and he had no other choice but to follow Colin as the man trudged his way across the boardwalk to shake hands with a man, next to what only could be the boat they were going to share for the next three weeks.

It was generously sized, sleek looking and white. No old fisherman’s tub for them, no this was the latest that the science nerds could get, with a bunch of controls that made Ryan feel a little ill as he neared. How the hell would he be able to help Colin on this thing, if only to keep it clean?

Colin turned to face him and grinned, dimples showing clearly, his face already a little red. Ryan shook himself and came up to the two men. “Ryan, this is Ron Caldwell, he helps us nerds look for fish and stuff,”

“Well, that’s putting it so loosely I think I’m out of a job,” Ron grinned, shaking Ryan’s hand. “I hope you do better than the last guy Mochrie was saddled with. What a schmuck, he left the oxygen tanks open so when Mochrie went diving the next morning he had no air left when he went in!”

Ryan was caught between outrage on Colin’s behalf and confusion. He wasn’t the first? Of course he wasn’t the first, like Colin had never gone on an expedition before him. He’d most definitely noticed during their years working side by side… almost… but not as familiar as they were now… that Mochrie had disappeared with one or more of the staff. “I’ll make sure not to kill him,” Ryan grinned, putting aside his rather pensive thoughts.

“Good. Mochrie’s a good man,” Caldwell smirked. “I’d hate to see him dead,”

“Okay, now that you two are done paying homage to my ego,” Colin flushed, pleased nevertheless, “We must shove off, do we have clearance from the port master?”

“Yup, you’re clear to go, just give us a shout so we can make sure you don’t run into anything,”

“Righto,” Colin said, hopping down onto the boat, “Hey Ry, could you toss me my bag, please?”

Ryan paused reaching for it. Ry? He smiled to himself. He liked it. He tossed Colin the bag as well as his own, realizing for the first time that this would be the ‘Testing of his Sea Legs’. A momentous occasion for him, surely.

Colin watched him, concerned, obviously thinking the same thing, but they needn’t have worried. Ryan beamed at him. “Good thing this isn’t a plane,”

Colin flushed, puzzling the hell out of Ryan with a little secret smile. “Yep, wouldn’t do to have you sleeping throughout the whole thing. You ready?”

“Yep,”

Ryan caught the ropes Caldwell tossed to him, and with a flick of the switch, the engine rumbled to life, vibrating Ryan’s legs underneath him like a gentle tickle, and with a lurch they took off, pulling out and threading their way out of the port to open sea.

Ryan sat down on one of the padded chairs after taking their things downstairs and staring at the bunks for a while. They were horribly small, but… strangely able to be smushed together. He sat watching Colin as he guided the boat out into the ocean, smiling gently, the wind pulling softly at his windbreaker, stinging his cheeks and lending him a flush that looked so lovely.

Colin looked back and sent him a joyous smile, and Ryan couldn’t help but smile back. He was wonderful, and Ryan made a private promise that even if nothing came of this voyage, he would enjoy it just because Colin was here.

He still marveled at the fact that he, him the high school drop out and failure extraordinaire, had been invited for this. He gave himself a mental shake Stop thinking like that… He likes you, he called you Ry…just fucking enjoy it man…

After 2 hours on the water, Colin killed the engine and dropped the anchor. He pulled out various maps and compared their position. They should be in the right place. Well, he’d find out soon enough tomorrow. He’d decided not to dive today. The flight and travel had taken their toll on him a bit and he knew it would be stupid to dive when he was not firing on all cylinders. He hadn’t told Ryan yet, but he figured today could be a bit of a day off for them, well, what was left of the day anyway…

After folding up the maps, he wandered back on deck, looking for Ryan. He was getting a little hungry and he wondered if Ryan felt the same. Ryan was stretched out on deck, the ridiculous hat pulled low over his face. He’d lost his socks, sandals and his T shirt…

Colin swallowed. He couldn’t take his eyes off him. Ryan’s face was relaxed in sleep, making him look even younger. He must have been out here a while because his smooth chest was showing slight signs of sunburn. Unlike Colin, Ryan was virtually hairless and his muscles were clearly defined. There was only a small trace of hair starting slightly below his belly button and disappearing under the waistband of the low-slung shorts. Colin steadied himself against the side of the boat, eyes fixed on the rise and fall of Ryan’s chest. It was almost hypnotic. He would love to have to freedom to apply some sunscreen on that chest. He could almost feel the skin, warm and alive… the sharp cry of a seagull interrupted his thoughts and he flushed red with embarrassment when he discovered he had developed an erection. Dear god….how old are you again? It had been a long time since his libido had announced itself and apparently it had returned with a vengeance. He closed his eyes and tried to focus on something else…anything…anything would do…

In the end he settled for naming dolphin species…alphabetically….and in Latin… By the time he got to Stenella Frontalis, his libido had decided to pack up and move to France again, which suited him fine.


With a little groan and a stretch, Ryan woke up. He was a little surprised he’d been asleep, seeing that he’d also slept on the plane but he figured he’d needed it. He looked around the deck and saw that Profe…Colin, had made himself comfortable on one of the benches. He had his reading glasses on, a pencil behind his ear and he was biting his lip, obviously deep in thought. One leg was stretched out in front of him and the other bent at the knee where he was resting a wad of papers. Ryan thought he looked adorable.

He would have been content just watching him, but after a few minutes Colin looked up, his eyes meeting Ryan’s. “Hey…you’re awake”

“Yeah…sorry I fell asleep…was there anything you wanted me to do?”

“Nah, I’m not diving today. Figured we could use a bit of time off. You hungry?”

Ryan hadn’t really thought of that but now that food was mentioned, his stomach growled, much to Colin’s amusement. “I take it that’s a yes…what do you want to eat?”

“What have you got?”

“I’m not sure. Ron usually takes care of provisions. I’ll go and have a look,” Colin got up and stretched. “Did you bring any sunscreen? I think you may have caught the sun a little,”

“Nah, I’ll be alright… how about you? Aren’t you warm in your t-shirt?”

“Eh….no…not really…plus I don’t want you to lose your appetite…I’m not…well… I take off my shirt and it’s ‘When Hairy met Flabby’.” Colin said lightly. Shit….you idiot…why did you have to tell him that….why don’t you mention your smelly feet and inability to digest sweet corn while you’re at it.

Ryan shrugged his shoulders. “Suit yourself but I don’t agree. I’d kill for shoulders like yours, you know. I’m too scrawny.” Ryan couldn’t help the faint blush that colored his cheeks. Way to go Stiles….now he’ll think you’ve been eyeballing him…which was true, but Colin didn’t need to know that… He looked at Colin from under his eyelashes and was surprised that Colin was also blushing…He’s obviously not used to compliments… got to work on that. He thought to himself.

Colin coughed, trying to cover the fact that Ryan’s compliment had made him feel all warm and tingly. He likes your shoulders…Damn…what am I, in high school again?

“Right…food…”

Colin made his way to the kitchen, with Ryan right behind. He hadn’t expected Ryan to follow him but was pleased nonetheless. He liked cooking but didn’t do it very often for himself, even though it never failed to relax him. He rifled through the well stocked cupboard, calling out suggestions as he went along.

“I’d like some food but nothing too heavy, you know. It’s warm…”

Colin had to agree with Ryan on that. “How about pasta then? Ron left us with plenty of ingredients…”

“Sure…” Ryan wasn’t overly enthused about macaroni and cheese, which is what he was expecting but if Colin wanted to make that for him, well, he wasn’t going to grumble.

“Before I start, you want a drink?”

“Yeah, why not, what have you got?”

“Eh… there’s beer, wine, soda…”

“What are you going to have?”

“White wine probably, it will go with the pasta,”

Ryan didn’t like white wine, he preferred beer but he didn’t want to appear a complete barbarian, even if it was only mac and cheese…

“Ok, I’ll have some too…”

Colin pulled a bottle out of the fridge and filled two glasses, handing one to Ryan. “To a successful trip…”

“I’ll toast to that…” Ryan replied, winking at Colin in the process.

Colin managed not to splutter into his drink, but the wink had taken him by surprise. What had Ryan meant by that?

“You okay with Pasta Carbonara? I’m afraid there isn’t enough stuff for anything more complicated…”

“Sure…” Ryan didn’t have a clue what Pasta Carbonara was but he figured it couldn’t be too bad if Colin was cooking it. “Anything I can do?” He was fuck all use in the kitchen, apart from cleaning up, but he did genuinely want to help out.

“Nah, not much to do really, you just sit there and look pretty,” As soon as he said it, Colin prayed for a hole to open up and swallow him but Ryan just sniggered.

“Let’s stick to something I can do, OK…”

In the end, Colin let him cut the pancetta. In hindsight he realized it had been the worst idea he’d ever had. The kitchen area was small for a single person, but with two in it, it was even more snug. Ryan kept bumping into him, brushing his front against his back, rubbing his arm as he was chopping, there was no end to the fleeting touches and it was driving him insane.

Made worse by Ryan seemingly incessant need for small talk, something Colin didn’t mind but it appeared Ryan was a fan of the game 20 questions. “So, you really enjoy cooking then?”

“Yeah, but I don’t really get a chance to do it a lot you know,”

“Why’s that?”

“Well, long hours, you know how it goes….”

“But you look really at home in the kitchen; I bet you’re very popular with the ladies. They like guys who can cook you know.” Ryan wondered if he’d overstepped the mark with that question, but he decided not to care.

“How’s the pancetta going?” Colin asked, blatantly changing the subject.

Ryan noted the change and backed off, looking down at the sad looking bits of bacon. “Well, they’re cut…” he grinned helplessly.

Colin smiled and tossed them into the fryer. “They’ll taste the same, I’m sure, now… to the rest of this stuff,” and with that, he began bustling about, ten steps ahead of Ryan and doing things with such ease that Ryan just slid out of the kitchen reluctant to loose the many little brushes, but he stood on the other side of the fridge, just watching him.

It made Ryan feel downright warm watching him move around, sipping his glass of wine. He imagined that they were at home, a nicely sized one with a big kitchen and an island where Ryan could just sit and watch Colin as he moved about it, making delicious smelling things while they talked about whatever the hell they chose. That would be nice… it felt nice, that’s for damn sure, and it made him feel almost as good if not more so when he imagined them in bed, or over a cart, or in the shower, or on the deck as Ryan slowly pulled Colin’s glasses off and kissed his eyes, then his nose, then the corner of his mouth at the dimple, then- “Dinner is served!” Colin said triumphantly, handing Ryan a steaming plate of the pasta with its bacon bits.

That was no mac n’ cheese!

It had a creamy looking sauce and the pancetta looked like a flourish more than, well… bacon bits. Ryan sat down, pondering it. “It looks too pretty to eat,” he laughed.

Colin laughed as well, sitting down with his own plate. “Oh! Wait,” he rose, getting a bag of cheese and sprinkling some onto the pasta. “There, now try it…” Colin said, watching him avidly.

Ryan took the fork and twirled it into the pasta, blowing on it and sniffing. Smelled just great… and the taste? He mmmm’d in deep approval, purring in his chest. “Oh god this is good Col…”

Colin, who had been watching him eat more than listening to the praise (Ryan looked very nice in the throes of pleasure, after all) he blinked and flushed at his new nickname. “Good! I’m glad-”

“Needs something though,” Ryan rose, going over to the locked mini-fridge and pulling out a bottle.

Colin’s jaw dropped as before his eyes, Ryan added a healthy dollop of ketchup and tucked in like he had two hollow legs and had been starved for years. Ryan blinked up at him, looking at the dropped jaw to his plate. Oh shit… “Uh… sorry… I uh, shit,” he wiped at his mouth, flushing to the tips of his ears and kicking himself. This is a fancy dish you shitkicker! Why the fuck do you have to add ketchup to it?!

Colin noted his distress and shook himself, taking the bottle and squirting some out on his plate too. Ryan watched, looking a little unsure, but Colin rolled a forkful and took a bite… wincing a little, but he put on a big grin. “You’re right, this is good!”

Ryan looked like he was ready to pass out with relief and smiled sunnily. Colin could stand his food tasting like this for that smile alone. “Want some more?”

“NO!”



A/N: At the many requests, pleas, and much bartering, Golden Glove Nominee William H. Macy agreed to play the part of Ron Caldwell on the condition that he not recieve a title credit, as he was not a main character in this film.

Comments

[saiya-tina.livejournal.com]

Aw, they're too cute! Ryan is postively adorable with the ketchup thing and Colin is so sweet with it! I love this!

[pdglyph.livejournal.com]

Thanks :D basically written with myself as Ryan and Cappy as Colin since I am 'fuck all use in a kitchen'

[iamcrazyodo.livejournal.com]

Aren't they all cute and shy? Aww, bless!
I agree with Ryan: Colin's shoulders are yummy. *wipes drool* ;)

So...now they're on a boat alone yet together. What will happen next, I wonder. *G* Can't wait for your next post. Keep 'em coming.

Tiny suggestion, if I may (you're allowed to ignore it, by all means): although I know that tags work for that, some people may not realise it so could you include the links for previous chapters when you make a new post? It'll make it easier for people to go read the fic from the beginning rather than have to hunt for previous chapters.

*hugs to you & Cappy*

[pdglyph.livejournal.com]

Hmmm... well, it's the morning of arrival, lets do the night of arrival.

Aw man! You're gonna make me do work! Well... I cannae do what yeh asked, cuz I'm puter illiterate, I am, but ah can put a little thingy saying 'Click here fer the otherz' <-- does not know what the hell happened to my fingers, all the sudden they had a bad Welsh(ish) accent

[captanonymus.livejournal.com]

Odes!!! God it's been *so* long!! I have been *really* terrible in visiting LJ and I *really* should catch up but RL has been a fickle mistress (and an utter bitch, but that's by the by) and has kept me entertained with other things :-) Thank you for leaving your two cents, I always appreciate it, even if I am a rubbish friend who tends to ignore you for 8 out of the 12 months.... :-) I hope you are well (under circumstance, of course)

[sungreen70.livejournal.com]

Very nice of William Macy to lend a hand.

lol, I love the adorable awkwardness between Colin and Ryan. The ketchup thing! Hee! It kept reminding me of the "I carried a watermelon" scene from Dirty Dancing ;)

Love it!

[pdglyph.livejournal.com]

That ketchup scene was basically what would happen if I went over to dinner at Cappy's. She even had to tell me what pancetta was, I'm such a culinary putz.

And yes, it was nice of him, wasn't it? XD!!! Thanks darling!

[clayangel.livejournal.com]

Woo! William H Macy. You ever see that one movie he was in...Edmond, I think it was called. That was fucked up. Good. But SO fucked up.

Anyway....

He wasn’t the first?—*laughs* Doube entendre, anyone? ^_^ That's so cute.

Oh, I love the paragraph where Colin is contemplating Ryan's chest. From the warm, toasty, summery feelings it gives you right down to the naughtiness of Colin's erection, it's just a fun and feel good moment. And his rambling about his own body a little later is just adorable.

Pasta Carbonara —Never had this before, but from your descriptions alone, I think I need some a little desperately now. ^_^

Oh, they're so cute at the end there, with the ketchup. ^_^ This is just such a feel good story. I love it so much.