geonomy | Drift Fleet Inbox, pt. 2

[ The water planet was certainly different than any place they had gone before, and that included all of Allen's adventures. And while Allen was by no means afraid of water like several people in the fleet, being submerged in water all day long was still weird.

So when they reached the hotel room that is thankfully airlocked? He can't help but feel completely relieved, even as they step into the room, soaking wet. ]

Oh thank God, I think I feel air.

[Clay wasn't afraid of the water either; in fact, he'd been trained to be a powerful swimmer, to work through the buoyancy of water, and to scuba dive, so this wasn't new to him. But being in the water all day? That was new, and very, very weird.

He tips his head back and lets out a groan as he steps into the air, water dripping from everywhere and making his clothes cling to his skin. There's no carpeting, as the natives expect people to come in sopping wet, but at least the bed looks comfortable enough.]

Finally! I was afraid we'd have to sleep floating in the water!

[Which, again, he'd know how to do, but he'd rather not.]

Me too.

[Both of them look like soaked messes. Allen doesn't even hesitate to start pulling off his gloves and shirt and - simply because now that it's exposed to air, the wet clothing is freezing.]

God it's cold now- they better have dry towels in here.

[Clay at least tries to do the same thing, though that's kind of hard to do when his clothes are soaking wet. He rolls his shirt up to his chest, then tries to pull that over his back, though it keeps getting stuck around his head and shoulders.]

Wouldn't surprise me if they didn't have any towels at all. Ugh, I already don't like it much here.

[Too wet. Too much water. And don't even get him started on how the fuck they're still alive after being in water like that.]

[He snorts a little when he sees that Clay's stuck in his shirt, then he reaches over to grab onto his shirt and help pull it off him. Here you go babe.]

Wow, I never thought I'd hear you disagree with a world.

Hey - [He lifts his arms, allowing Allen to help him out - though it does get stuck in his hair a little] Us astronomers are allowed to like some worlds more than others! [With the shirt finally off, Clay shakes his arms, then crosses them in front of his torso to warm up some] This is just one of those others.

[He makes an amused sound as he tosses that wet shirt aside.] Mm, that's fair enough.

Hold on, let me go see what they do have.

[He walks further into the hotel room, checking the closet. When he opens it, there's sure enough a large pile of towels- they've had enough land species complain about that. He grabs a towel and tosses it over in Clay's direction before grabbing his own. Then he notices-]

Ah good! There's even bathrobes!

[Clay makes a sound of relief as he catches the towel and wraps it around his shoulders and torso, using it as a blanket so that he doesn't get the bed wet. When he hears about the bathrobes, he lifts his head and tilts it, trying to look into the closet from where he is]

Really? Even better!

[And now that he's been jolted into action a little, he starts to try taking off his wet pants, a task which is proving just as difficult as the shirt.]

The fluffy kind?

Let's see...

[He reaches out to touch the sleeve of one of them. Then he gives a very stoic nod to Clay]

Yes. Confirmed for fluffy!

Fluffy!

[He pumps a fist in the air; at least they have a good thing to help themselves!]

We're gonna need those. As soon as I...

[He trails off as he keeps trying to get the pants off. Ugh, wet clothes are the worst]

[Allen pulls out a blue bathrobe that's meant for Clay, draping it over his arm as he walks back to him while Clay struggles with those wet pants]

Need help?

[He looks up at Allen, then gives a sheepish little smile as he sits back, leaning his weight on his hands while he lifts his leg up for Allen]

Yeah, a little.

Okay.

[He'll set the bathrobe on an end table near Clay, so his hands are free as he reaches over to grab onto his pants. Needless to say, this isn't the first time he's done this- but definitely the first time he's done it while his pants were soaking wet- so they're coming off slowly]

Wow, these things are on tight.

[Clay himself just moves in a way that makes this easier on Allen, a frown on his face only from how annoying wet clothes are in the first place.]

Yeah. Maybe we should make that a suggestion for improving tourism: offer a way to dry off customers. Then again, it's not like they need anything like that.

Aw, but then I wouldn't have a nice excuse to strip you out of your clothes.

[From the grin on his face, he's clearly teasing about that. He keeps tugging until finally they get past the knee so it gets easier to pull them all the way off]

Maybe they have a comments box somewhere we can drop the suggestion.

[That comment, at least, gets him to grin in return and let out a huff of laughter]

You know full well you don't need an excuse to do that.

[He tilts his head towards the door after that] That just makes me wonder how many people asked for that already. There's already an air-locked hotel...

[He chuckles] I know.

[After a few more tugs, the pants are off one leg. Allen casually lowers that leg and lifts the other so he can slide that last leg out. Once free, he tosses the pants aside and moves to grab another towel so to help pat Clay's legs dry.

What? He has nice legs]

Probably loads, it seems like they have trade partners from other planets. I can't imagine any human wanting to sleep in the water.

[Clay chuckles at that, more than aware that Allen's doing a little more than just patting his legs dry. Allen's always had a thing for his legs, no question about that. In response, he adjusts them to give him more space.]

No kidding. I still can't get over how we can actually breathe underwater. [He shudders a little bit] It's weird.

[The extra space is appreciated. Because yes, he is taking some enjoyment out of this, making sure every part of Clay is patted down dry. For the hell of it, he even takes extra time with the back of knees.]

Yeah. It is weird, I'll give you that. Do you think it's some sort of magic?

[Oh, Allen sure hit a weak spot there. He curls his toes a little and lightly bites his lip around a smile. Yeah, Allen knows all the spots that make him react like this, and he loves it.]

Uh... yeah, probably. I mean... If I knew the compound of the water around here, maybe I could get an answer? There's oxygen in water, but it's bound to the hydrogen in such a way that our lungs can't handle it, so we can't absorb any of it. If it was different... or magic, maybe?

[He just. Likes explanations.]

Edited 2017-03-25 06:13 (UTC)

[Oh yeah, Allen knows all about those spots and Clay's reactions. Just seeing that subtle reaction makes Allen grin some. He finishes up patting dry his legs before he stands up, pecking Clay's cheek as he grabs that bathrobe to drape over Clay's shoulders] Mind helping me now?

[Since you know, he's still in his pants. But now to talk about the science stuff]

If you want, you could probably use my lab to examine some samples of the water. Maybe that can help you narrow it down whether it's magic or not.

[Clay grins in return, fitting that bathrobe on and lazily closing it around himself. Not like he cares when it's just him and Allen, but it is nice, cozy and warm, which is exactly what he needs after coming in from the water like that.

With Allen's question, Clay gives a "no problem" as he kneels in front of him, easily undoing his pants, then starts to slowly pull them down]

Mm... yeah, that sounds like a good idea. I don't know about water as much as I do space, but I can probably get at least some kind of answer by studying it. [...] Or more questions, but eh, that's science.

[Allen meanwhile makes sure to lean against that wall like Clay did, using his hands to hold his weight so he can hold up his leg to make it easier for Clay. Ugh. Wet clothing really does suck.

He gives a small amused laugh] Yeah, and I think you'd be disappointed if you got all your questions answered anyway.

I dunno. Answers are what I'm looking for, right?

[Still, he pauses a little as he takes some time to think about it. He then lets out a laugh as he continues to work, easing his pants and underwear down to his thighs]

Actually, yeah, you're right. Not having any other questions just takes the fun out of all the study I do.

[He nods and smiles fondly at Clay, not at all feeling exposed by Clay pulling down his pants and underwear. It's just the two of them here.]

See? Exactly. You're always happiest when you're in the midst of studying something.

Edited 2017-03-25 07:00 (UTC)

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