Running Wild
Posted on Wed Mar 6th, 2019 @ 1:57am by Lieutenant Commander Angus Murphy
Mission:
Sojourn
Location: Marga III, nudist resort
Timeline: MD2, 0900 hours
1273 words - 2.5 OF Standard Post Measure
Tangled in the sheets, yet feeling utterly happy and relaxed, Patrick found is way back to awarenes. Despite being tangled, the first thing he noticed was how the sheets were sticking to his damp body. He felt rozy, and utterly happy... until he found the spot next to him devoid of the warm body that had been clung to his most of the night.
He grunted, feeling sore all over as he tried to stretch. "Murph?" he called out, "Murph, where are you?"
Murphy, still on ship's time, had risen well before sunlight and slipped out quietly for an early morning run along the beach. He'd run much further than he'd expected to, almost seven miles upshore and past several other resorts. On his way back, the morning light had begun to peek over the water. The events of the day before, the sensuous night around the campfire, spending so much time with Pat combined with the cool salty air in his lungs, the sun on his face, and the feeling of sand between his toes, Murph felt more alive than he could ever recall. He even waved at a few early morning shell collectors -- who were fully clothed and quite startled to see a naked ginger running through the hard-packed tidal sands. It didn't bother him one bit.
When he returned to the resort, properly glistening with sweat, Manu waved him into the tail end of the beach yoga session where he happily fit right in with the others in the class. Manu would make rounds, correcting poses and straighening tailbones. At the end of the class, everyone even mingled a bit. Murphy slipped out before the gathering had dispersed, hoping to get home before Pat woke up.
Murph walked in the door of the beach hut balancing a small tray of two pastries and two coffees. "Hey," he smiled, still sweaty, at Pat. "Been up long?"
Sizing the other man up, Patrick shook his head. "No not really, was about to go get a shower." He arched an eyebrow at murph. "And so are you because we're not having breakfast all sweaty. Had a good run?" Of couse, he did know Murph liked to go for a run in the moring, as he did it on the ship all the time too.
"It was great. Nice to run outside and not the corridors of deck seven," Murph set the tray on the small dining table and took a sip of his coffee while it was still hot. "Mm. Oh. In the fairness of transparency, I stopped by the yoga class for a few minutes. You should think about going tomorrow. I think it'll help with my flexibility." He paused and sort of waggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Not that I'm complaining about your flexibility... at all."
Patrick almost choked on a sip of coffee. "I'll take that as a compliment and I have no complaints at all. I'm happy with you as you are, remember. But if you want to do yoga, I'll give it a go. I want to catch some more sun, get a bit more colour before we have to go back, and I'd like to get some idea of the local cuisine... What about you?"
"Oh yeah, lunch. Let's find some local place to do lunch," Murphy agreed. "Maybe you'll find some new ideas for the kitchen."
"You know me too well," Pat teased, "but what about you? Is there anything you'd really like to explore?" He grinned. "Other than admiring each other, or the servant?"
Murph grabbed a towel from the clean pile and headed into the open shower and turned on the water, which cascaded like a waterfall from the ceiling. He stuck his hand in the stream, waiting for it to warm up. "I just like hanging out with you," he grinned. "So, I'm content for now-- but it's going to be a long couple weeks for leave, so we'll come up with some other ideas," he promised as he stepped under the water.
"We could just stay here for a few days and then go somewhere else?" Patrick shrugged, wincing slightly as he felt a muscle in his shoulder pull painfully. He watched the man for a moment, briefly considering joining him, before dismissing the idea. He figured that if he did that, they'd never leave the cabin. So instead he waited patiently for Murph to finish. "Just leave the water running, I'll go in next," he said.
After they both were done, Patrick quickly dried himself. "For all the good that'll do in this heat," he laughed, tossing the damp towel onto the laundry pile.
"Are we thinking of a resort restaurant or are you going to make me put on clothes again?" Murph asked with a chuckle. "Maybe something nice and off-resort would be fun."
"Somehow, I consider it a little more hygienic to dine with clothes on, don't you?" Patrick chuckled, reaching to run the back of his fingers across Murph's bare skin. "Not that I don't appreciate seeing you in the buff. I don't mind that one bit you see, but I would rather keep all of it for myself." He glared towards the door, as if to expect interruption any second. "I don't like how that guy that works here keeps trying to touch you. As if he's trying to goad me."
"What are you---you mean Manu?" Murph seemed surprised. "I don't think he's trying to goad you," he laughed a bit and shook his head. "You know they're just all about customer service and making sure everyone is having a nice time. And I think they're supposed to be a little... teasing. It's just part of the resort atmosphere. And maybe it's the culture here. I don't know? Anyway, you have nothing to be upset about. Even if he was, and I still don't think he is, I'm still going home with you when we go back to Majestic." He pulled Paddy closer and gave him a big embrace.
Murph dropped the embrace after a moment and stepped back a bit, grinning, then bowed and did his best imitation of Manu's baritone voice, "I will wear pants to lunch as you wish, sir."
"I don't care what you wear," Patrick answered, unable to contain his laughter at the comical imitation. "As long as you're comfortable with it. If it's nothing fancy, I'm going to go with shorts and a shirt." He pulled the man back into his arms, resting his head against his shoulder, letting his hands rest against the small of his back. "I'm happy Angus, and I'm very glad to have this holiday together."
"I'm happy also," Murph said as he reciprocated by wrapping his arms around him as well. "This holiday has been good for us. I feel closer to you than ever."
For several minutes, they just stood there. Finally, Patrick disentangled himself from the embrace and stood on his toes to kiss the other's cheek. "Want to go out and catch some more sunshine? We can take our clothes and go from there..."
"Yeah," Murph agreed with a smile. He picked up his duffel bag and fished out a complete set of clothes. "Ready when you are."
Grabbing some clothes and stuffing them in a bag along with some sandals, Paddy grinned. "Ready," he announced. The sunshine was clearly doing him a world of good, as well as his general mood. Of course, Patrick felt it had more to do with his present company. "Let's go."
Lieutenant Angus Murphy
Chief Engineer
USS Majestic
Patrick O'Malley
Chef
pnpc Lhaes
