Who: Kaldur'ahm and Peter Parker (ASM) Where: Kaldur's home, and then the waters by New Asgard When: December 26, 2019 What: Trying out Peter's New Gift Rating/Warnings: Low, none Status: Completed via GDocs
While he still didn't quite understand all of the nuances behind this particular series of surface holidays, it had been impressed upon him that gift giving was expected if not somewhat mandatory. The fact that this was his first holiday season to be among people he considered friends only fueled his desire to honor this tradition. It did not, however, mean that he had to be around to see the opening of said gift, so Kaldur had taken the easy way out and left the box outside of his friend's room in the late hours of Christmas, when he was least likely to catch him in the act.
Silly of him, he knew, but it really was a rather extravagant present. Better to avoid the initial in-person awkwardness.
The next morning, he lay in bed and stared at the ceiling. His network device was on silent, sitting on his bedside table. If he was getting any notifications, he almost didn't want to know. So Kaldur stayed where he was, listening to the sound of the thud in his chest and the tidal roar of his own thoughts and doubts.
The gift he’d found outside his bedroom door had left him speechless. It was incredible, really thoughtful and a heck of a lot more than he’d expected. Peter had tried to put into words his thanks, but the text he’d sent didn’t seem like enough. Neither did his own gift for Kaldur, not in comparison to the underwater camera his friend had given to him. At least not in his mind.
A short journey to New Asgard had Peter standing outside his best friend’s house, knocking on the door and hoping he wasn’t too early to call on him. His new camera was tucked carefully into his backpack and hoped that Kaldur would help him try it out, provided the sea wasn’t too rough.
Even as Kaldur climbed out of bed and made his way to the door, each step left him more and more certain about who would be outside it. He was already smiling when he got it open, something easy and fond to see Peter there, and didn't hesitate to reach out and pull his friend into the warmth of his home. Belatedly, he realized he was wearing only what he'd worn to bed: a pair of black shorts. At least he'd put on something. "Good morning, Peter. Happy… Boxing Day, is it? Have you enjoyed your boxes so far? I confess, I still do not understand this holiday."
"Good morning, Kaldur!" Peter’s greeting came out in a rush as he stumbled over his initial shock at seeing so much of his friend so early in the morning. Though it wasn’t a sight he’d be adverse to seeing more often. Ugh, not the time for those kinds of thoughts. "I’m enjoying it so far… honestly I don’t know what meaning Boxing Day holds. It’s a British and Canadian thing more than an American one. But I could probably find out." He smiled then, realizing he was rambling on about nothing. "Did you join in with the Yule celebrations here in New Asgard? I think I ate too much."
A chance to look his friend over? Well, Kaldur was a simple man who didn't hesitate to take the opportunity, eyes lingering on Peter's stomach before flying back up to his face with a raised brow. "You do not appear to be in distress." Well done. Kaldur cracked a smile. "Please, make yourself comfortable. I should… most likely put something else on."
He walked back to his room to shrug on an oversized sweatshirt, continuing to talk to his friend as he did so. "Would you care for some coffee? Have you eaten yet this morning? I heard the Yule festivities outside, but did not attend myself. I fear I am still unaccustomed to events of that size. It sounded as though a good time was had by all, however." Kaldur tugged at the end of his cuffs as he emerged. "It…has been a little over a year since the events in Russia. It occurred to me the other day. Apologies. I am… trying to feel the aster again, as my friends used to say."
Chuckling at Kaldur’s frank appraisal of his well being, Peter followed his friend into the familiar home and settled himself on the sofa as instructed. It all felt very natural and comfortable being there, just as it had the last time. Almost home-like, even though it wasn’t his own. "Maybe a shirt or something so you’re not so distracting—" He flapped his hands as he tried to cover his slip, "With all the cool tattoos."
Tipping his head back against the sofa cushion, he rolled his eyes at the ceiling in the wake of his flailing. "Coffee would be great, and no, I haven’t yet. Wasn’t sure if I had room." One hand fiddled with the zip-pull of his bag. "Yeah… big crowds can be too much sometimes." Peter fell silent after the talk of Russia. He only knew about what had happened from the information FRIDAY provided. Kaldur hadn’t spoken much about it, but Pete knew he’d been made to suffer after his sneaky conversation with the people Stateside. HYDRA really were terrible people. "Well, if I can help you feel the aster, I will. Maybe we could get together? With your friends I mean."
Kaldur felt a flush that he normally wouldn't have, but dismissed it in favor of going to the kitchen and putting on a pot of coffee. There were a box of day old doughnuts on the counter, so he grabbed them and brought them back to the living room. The coffee maker would let out a musical chime once it was done, leaving him with enough notice that he sat easily next to his friend. "If you do find room, you are free to fill it once more." He sent Peter an easy smile, even while something in his insides continued to squirm at the memories floating too close to the surface. "Your presence is always welcome, no matter what my level of aster may be. Perhaps we can meet at the New Year's party at Threshold? Did you have plans for that evening? I confess, I fall prey to the desire not to burden my friends with my ranging moods. You being the sometimes exception, of course."
"Mm doughnuts, I might find room for one with my coffee." He smiled, the snack food was a staple of his patrolling diet. The brightness of his expression turned up a few notches at the confirmation by Kaldur that his company was always a welcome thing. Sometimes he felt as if he was too presumptuous when it came to dropping in on his few friends in this new world. "I’d like that, I don’t have any New Years plans of my own. Though you might have to keep me from nodding off in a corner. I’m not great at late nights unless I’m out webslinging." Again he leaned his head on Kaldur’s shoulder, comfortable in his presence and hoping that his friend felt similarly soothed by the touch. "It’s never a burden, and I’m sure Wally and Dick agree with me there."
"I thought as much." Kaldur chuckled warmly, and then his smile deepened. "If I see you corner bound, I will take it as my mission to keep you up and dancing. Would that I could show you the celebrations we would have in Atlantis. You would never find cause to be in a corner." The homesickness didn't hurt quite as badly, which he attributed entirely to his friend. His attention caught on the bag Peter had brought with him and recognized it as holding his photography equipment. The fact that he hadn't mentioned Kaldur's gift already made him wonder if it had not been appreciated in the vein it was meant. "Have you come to take pictures of the village and the beach?"
"I’ll thank you in advance for keeping me from the corner." Peter smiled as his imagination tried to conjure up what an Atlantean celebration might look like. "I really wish I could see Atlantis, whilst celebrating or just on an ordinary day." He wondered for a moment if he should have admitted that desire, not wanting to inadvertently make his friend homesick. "Oh!" Peter real-life facepalmed as Kaldur’s question reminded him why he’d made the journey over to New Asgard in the first place. "See, I told you, you’ve distracted me. I meant to say thank you for my gift as soon as I got here. The camera is incredible, and I wanted to ask if you’d help me try it out… I’d really like for you to be the subject of my first underwater photograph."
If Kaldur's face hadn’t lit up with a pleased flush, the way his gills were fluttering would have been a dead giveaway for just how happy Peter's reaction made him. He chuckled with a grin that threatened to take over his face. At the very least, it made the ache of missing home something manageable, and not the force that had driven him into the oceans of this world in the first place. "My apologies, but it would be both a pleasure and an honor to serve as your initial subject. Coffee and doughnuts, and then a spell to keep you warm as you try out your new equipment?"
In a testament to their mutual excitement, and after a single cup of coffee and doughnut consumed by each, they were down on the beach less than fifteen minutes later. The temperature was near to freezing, but it didn't bother Kaldur at all. He hoped it didn't bother Peter either, since he'd already performed a spell that would keep him from feeling the worst of the elements. "Perhaps I should purchase one or two wetsuits to keep on hand. I fear I can do nothing for your current clothes, but we can dry them after?"
"I'm sure they'll dry out just fine later. I think I should invest in a wetsuit anyway if I decide to finally take up surfing next year." Peter chuckled as he carefully took the camera from his bag. "It's one of those things I never got around to before, so when Courtney started in the summer I had a go and it was pretty fun." Holding up the lighting rig that went with the camera, he glanced toward the iron colored waves and then back to his friend. "I'm going to need this too aren't I? The waves look kinda dark."
He, too, looked out at the water, felt the pull, its mercurial call, but Kaldur pulled himself back. As much as he missed his undersea home, this was not truly his own, and anyway, he had something he'd missed more above the surface. He smiled at the source now, because he could, because he wanted to. "Perhaps I will join you in your endeavor. It might be good to be able to navigate above the waves and not just beneath them." He tilted his head, considering. "I can provide some illumination, but I do not know how or if it might affect your photography. We could do a few of both, if you would like?"
Peter, a little caught off guard by the emotion in that smile, hopped about on one foot as he tried to dispel his last shoe, spider-balance momentarily leaving him in wake of the beautiful expression. "I’m never going to say no to your company. It’ll be fun." Peter was perhaps too enthusiastic about the prospect, but he found he was always the same when it came to being with people he really liked. "A few of both," He nodded, "Yes, I’d like that." It took him a couple of minutes to get the camera set up properly and secured around his neck with a strap, then they were wading through the surf until the water became deep enough to swim.
"Amazing," He breathed as the magic really took hold, fending off the temperature of the water. "I’m not cold at all."
"One more spell, and then you can move freely under the water." Kaldur performed it with a wave of his hands and quietly spoken words in his native tongue, and a soft light enveloped his friend's nose and mouth. Watching Peter with his equipment had been fascinating, but he hadn't sidetracked him with questions. He was eager to not only be in the water, but also to see Peter in the element Kaldur loved so much. After giving Peter a playful look, he dove beneath the waves and waited for his friend to follow.
Aside from a slight tingling when the magical light appeared, he didn’t notice the enchantment, too focused on following his friend beneath the waves. That playful expression curving Kaldur’s lips was one he wanted to capture and once below the surface, he could see him perfectly matched in his element. The soft membrane between each of Kaldur’s fingers meant he could propel himself through the water far more efficiently than Peter ever could. But thankfully he didn’t choose to zoom off. Treading water, Peter lifted the camera and brought his friend into focus as he swam a little way ahead. The lights punctured the darkness enough that he could see the graceful lines of Kaldur’s body and he snapped his first shot.
Kaldur twisted and rolled with the currents, sometimes looking Peter's way, but for the most part just swimming wherever and however he wanted. And if maybe he exaggerated his movements or twisted a certain way, it was all to give his friend a dynamic experience. Here, under the washed out gray, the water had given way to being a deep, cobalt blue, the sea floor all sand and craggy rocks. One day, he'd take Peter to a reef, to many reefs, and let him capture the rainbow colored wonders of their natural beauty. For now, though, he smiled at the idea and let his tattoos glow in a low blue light, illuminating them both. His friend looked— he looked… beautiful down here. And above there. And everywhere.
And this was not the time for such thoughts. Kaldur gestured for the camera, silently asking if he could take a few pictures of his own.
He truly hoped the pictures were as beautiful as the reality, because seeing Kaldur in the water, tattoos glowing against the deep blue, it was one of the most breathtaking sights he’d ever beheld. His friend was striking on land, but down here, he was ethereal. Smiling back at Kaldur, he gave him a quizzical look at the gesture before realizing what his friend wanted. Lifting the camera from his neck, he handed it over thinking that Kaldur could take some cool shots even further out in the deeper parts of the Atlantic. Though they hadn’t been underwater too long, he wasn’t used to swimming in clothes and didn’t think he could go much further out himself. But he’d love to see what Kaldur’ahm saw out there.
Being as careful as he could, Kaldur turned the camera around and began snapping photos of Peter. He swam around him to get different angles, hoping at least one or two came out. Really what he wanted was that unfettered grin, the one that lit up the entire room, the entire ocean. A longing opened up inside him, and he couldn't push it down this time. He wanted to be the reason Peter smiled, while also recognizing how selfish that was. So many couples from vastly different universes had gotten together while living here, and Kaldur wanted that too. But how many had opened themselves up to love, to connection, only for it to be ripped away by the capricious whims of whatever was behind the portal. He mentally shook his head at himself. No, he was happy with Peter as his friend. Longing for anything more was a recipe for a broken heart.
He smiled as he handed the camera back and then nodded toward the silvery line undulating above them, mouthing, "Done?"
Well, that was a surprise, but not an entirely unwelcome one. Peter attempted to act naturally for his photographer, but he couldn’t help the laughter that bubbled up as he smiled for the camera. Usually he didn’t like his photo taken, but this time, for Kaldur, he didn’t mind at all. He knew with a sudden certainty that he’d happily do anything for and with his friend, and that sometime in the recent past he’d decided he wanted more than friendship with Kaldur, too. Maybe, just maybe, when he caught a certain softness in his friend’s expression, Kaldur’ahm had decided something similar.
Taking the camera back, he nodded in answer to the question with a little smile of his own, and followed his friend’s lead as he navigated them back to shore. Pushing sodden hair back from his face, he turned with a euphoric smile to his dear friend. "That was amazing, thank you. Best Christmas gift and Boxing Day I could have hoped for."
Kaldur smiled in return as he swiped his hands down his arms and legs to get most of the water off his limbs. "For you? Anything." And he meant it. Gods, how he meant it. He turned toward New Asgard and inclined his head toward it. "Shall we dry off and then you can show me the results? Or do you need to run them through your computer first?"
He let his blush creep up his neck without attempting to hide it and carefully dried off the equipment with a towel before stowing it away in his bag. "I brought my laptop with me, it’s at your place, so we can look at the pictures on that. But yes, I’d like to be dry first." He chuckled, picking up his shoes to carry while his feet dried off. "Maybe we can order in and make a day of it?"
Yes, Kaldur decided, this was enough. And it was good. It was the best he could possibly hope for. He grinned over at Peter and began to lead the way back to his home. "This is an excellent plan, indeed."