protective_logic | Open Post

"You're not a servant," Delta answers. "I can carry my own things. You're supposed to have your hands free, right? In case you need to defend me?"

He will use whatever excuse he can to ensure he isn't abusing the relationship that has formed between them. And he's got a point about the holding things he thinks.

'That's a good point.' He was mostly just being polite, but yes, he probably should have his hands free. Though he really hopes no one tries to attack them on their way to the swimming pool.

'Shall we?'

Given the house they live in, Delta wasn't completely certain it wouldn't happen. He was living with perhaps the greatest threat to him, so he had to accept that risk and move on with it. Particularly toward the front hall.

He holds the sandals in front of him like it's a shield as he heads out of the room into the hall. "Okay, so we can go wait by the front door. Is that a good place? You've been there a few times. Is it a safe place?"

York stays close. Delta is clearly uneasy and given all that's happened, he can hardly fault him. No one should feel unsafe in their own home.

'We will wait a little ways back,' he says. 'And there's glass or a peek hole, and this for any door, keep the lights off and stay out of its easy sight if you can.'

It takes a moment for Delta to think of why that is important, but he sighs and nods in agreement. Makes sense. Helps that there wouldn't be any windows.

"Honestly I'm more concerned about the internal threats," Delta grumbles as he guides York to the front of the house. "We are protected from external threats by the Hawks and standard security that defend the house."

'Internal threats are different,' he says, trying to keep his tone factual. 'We'll look into putting more measures in place, but for now, the best thing is to stay close and keep your guard up.'

"Didn't really develop a guard," Delta admits with a shrug. They arrive in the front hall soon enough and he carefully considers the door. No windows but maybe he should stay back anyway. And leave York between him and the rest of the house. "I guess you can teach me that too."

That, he is somewhat surprised by. With Delta living the life he does, he'd have thought the man would have developed something of a guard. Well, he can help him develop it now, he's probably going to need it.

'I'm happy to help in any ways I can.' They stay back for now, York between Delta and the door while they wait.

Guard in his own home? It wasn't something he was trained to be. Out on the streets Delta found himself more easily paranoid. And maybe there was something to be said of a man who had his own panic room. But that didn't mean he knew how to be on guard every second of every day in his own home. Threats from within were not anticipated.

"That's all I can ask. After all, we're a team. And we're going to teach things to each other, right?"

'Right,' he agrees. 'I feel like we've both got good knowledge on what we know, so sharing it will be mutually beneficial.'

There's the sound of a doorbell and York looks back at the door. Probably the delivery. He steps closer, still careful, and looks to the camera showing the other side. Yep, delivery. Still, he's careful, only opening the door enough to look out and bring the parcel back in.

The delivery man looks confused, but he does hand the package over. And once the door was closed Delta moves forward to smile at York. "I hope you like some of what I picked out. Or at least one thing."

York dips his head in thanks and shuts the door taking Delta a bit further back before opening the parcel to find multiple swimming shorts.

'I'm sure there's a few here I like.' What he can see looks good.

"Hopefully you will still like them after you've put them on to try," Delta answers before pointing in the direction they need to go. He'll have to direct York from behind. Probably isn't safe to lead.

Which says something terrible about his own home, but what was a person going to do?

'As long as they're comfy and don't come off in the water, that's all I need. And not too garish, but we covered that.' He starts heading in the direction Delta pointed out.

"I... that would be bad," Delta agrees, his face going scarlet again. It would likely be difficult enough seeing such a gorgeous man half undressed in front of him. And wet.

Damn this was a bad idea.

'It would, but don't worry. I trust your judgement.' They keep heading through the halls, York building his own view onto the map he has on his HUD.

Delta, caught up with the thoughts, just focuses on moving on, walking, directing York when they needed to turn. Soon he had them at the back half of the mansion, or near to that. Then he came upon a palm scanner and pushed past York to press his hand to it. The door slid open and the smell of chlorine filled the air.

Even the pool cleaner wouldn't be able to get in while they were there.

"Come through. I have to scan my hand on the other side to lock it too."

There are many halls and corridors and York is glad he has the map in case something happens before heading had the chance to learn the layout of the building.

He lets Delta pass and then follows him through into the pool'so area. His HUD alerts him to the chlorine in the air, though he can't smell it himself yet.

Once York is through Delta locks down the door and punches in a personal code to keep it secure. That done he turns and looks at York with a smile. The pool is a wonderful thing, a long thing that was heated and had lights in it and the near end was shaped like a clover leaf because apparently his grandparents had really liked the concept of luck. The main swimming channels almost served as the stem, and he knew the drop off to the diving end was rather deep. The boards at the far end of the pool did make him uncomfortable though.

"So this is it. That door to the right is the changing room. Has a shower and some lockers. And you can see the chairs by the pool. So we're good. I hope."

While Delta locks the door, York admires the pool. While elaborate and carefully designed, it hasn't lost any function to appearances. The fact that whoever made it managed to get both use and looks out of it so successfully is quite the achievement.

'Pretty,' he says as he turns back to Delta. 'Do they have any cameras here?'

"Really?" Delta asks, cocking his head to the side and looking at York. This was a house built for and maintained by the people who helped create the culture of Falconry in the modern day. "Of course not."

He leaves the mound of things for York on the nearest chair and instead fishes out his things so he can walk toward the changing room for himself.

'Just double checking.'

He collects the pile Delta's set out for him and heads for a different changing room where he starts stripping his armor and undersuit. There are a selection of swimming shorts and he picks out a black pair with a gold stripe down his hips and outer thigh. They fit perfectly, Delta was as good as his word, and once he's satisfied, he steps back out.

Delta returns from changing first, his green board shorts (covered in triangles of course) tight to his body. In silence he waited for the man to return, and when he showed up Delta was left staring in... awe? God he was beautiful. It made the man swallow and to protect himself from giving things away he splashed into the shallows. Cold water should help.

"So uh... Like them?"

York, for his part, is feeling a little exposed and self conscious. He hasn't willingly been this bare in a while, and he's gained a few extra scars since then, most notably the long lashes across his back, which he'd rather keep from Delta. If he stays facing the man, it should be okay.

That aside, Delta is looking good in broad shorts, and York smiles as he meets him on the side of the pool.

'I do. Good pick.'

The man doesn't bother to look at York. He's just too attractive.

"So it's time to start, right? Get in the water and you teach me how to swim? Or at least float. Can we start with floating really? I'm only slightly okay at it."

When he floated he tended to flinch and then he wasn't floating anymore. Oh well.

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