It Was Only a Matter of Time (Zach)

[Malachai Roen]

This was officially Kai's first vacation after being hired at the Hammel Institute as a researcher, and in typical Roen style, he was spending it big - as in, week-long cruise in the Bahamas big. But he wouldn't be spending it alone, of course. He'd brought along his one and only stubborn, sulky, book-nerd of a boyfriend for a very relaxing, and very special, couple's retreat. They had been on-board for a couple days already, and the younger man was already enjoying his time immensely, spending hours walking around the deck with nothing but his shorts on, swimming in the giant pools, eating enough right and expensive food to make him gain ten pounds (if he didn't fit in time to work out, of course), as well as following along with whatever Zach wanted to do when Kai felt like he'd been dragging his boyfriend along on his own excursions for long enough.

At the moment, he was dressed in his khaki shorts, flip-flops, and sunglasses, walking alongside the writer as he tried to recall where the nearest ice cream shop was. "I know it's around here somewhere," Kai assured Zach; of course, he hadn't yet looked at a map or asked anyone for help. They were sure to find it eventually! "Are you doing alright?" he asked after another moment, looking over at the shorter man. He knew Zach didn't do as well in the heat and sunlight as he did, and they had been walking around for a decent amount of time before now. "We can go take a dip in a pool if you'd like to. It's pretty warm today."

[Deleted]

Zach probably needed this vacation. Desperately. It’d been a tiresome year and quite honestly, he was glad to get away from it all. Away from school for the summer. Away from family, as much as he loved each and every one of them. He’d bring them souvenirs when he got home. Away from work, away from people…away from life, basically. At least, he’d hoped that getting away would be a good thing. It was supposed to be. That’s why he’d agreed to go on this cruise with Kai, despite being vastly uncomfortable with the younger man paying Zach’s fare. It was part of the reason why Zach was unable to relax. Everything…and I mean everything…cost money. No matter what you did, they had you scan your room key-card so they could charge whatever it was you were doing to that room. On the one hand, that made it convenient so you just had to pay for everything later. On the other hand, that made it incredibly easy to rack up a bill as high as Mount Everest.

Not that Kai seemed to care. Of course not, that spendthrift was gorging himself on cocktails and food left and right. And somehow looking like a supermodel throughout it all.

In the meantime, Zach looked like a beach bum. A sloppy, unshaven, half-burnt beach bum with no money and no place to sleep except underneath the funnies of the Times. Hawaiian shirts really didn’t suit the writer. Shorts didn’t really suit the writer. Sunlight didn’t really suit him either, hence why he was doing his best to walk in the shade whenever it became available. If it were up to him, he’d be buried in the bottom decks of the ship, sitting on a fancy stool, losing all of Kai’s money to a slot machine while sipping on one craft beer after another. They had quite the variety, which made Zach happy. Regardless…Zach just didn’t like walking around, exerting energy, while looking like a hobo next to the his million-dollar-man of a boyfriend.

Zach sighed. “I’m fine.” He really was…sorta…not. He needed aloe. And a hat. And a UV resistant umbrella. “‘Pretty warm’, you say?” Zach scoffed. “It’s sweltering.” That was a little more than just ‘pretty warm’. “You just had to pick the boat that straddled the equator, didn’t you?” he griped, pushing up his sunglasses grumpily.

[Malachai Roen]

Nope, Kai didn’t care one bit about how much money he was spending on the two of them during this trip. He had plenty to spare, and he wanted to spoil Zach as much as he possibly could, so it meant splurging. All the splurging. The writer didn’t even know one very important thing that Kai had brought along that had cost nearly the same price as the cruise itself… but he would find out soon enough. Tonight, if things went as the taller man planned.

Sure, he noticed that he and Zach looked vastly different, strolling around the ship together, but he didn’t really care all that much. Well… Okay, occasionally he got after Zach (not just now but back home too) about shaving more often, but that was more out of physical intimacy preferences than anything else. Kai wasn’t going to get a rash anywhere weird just because the writer didn’t deal with his scruff properly! But otherwise, he let his boyfriend do and look however he wanted; Kai loved him no matter what. It was a little awkward when the occasional forward and bold woman would approach him with obvious intentions, presumably thinking Zach was just a friend of his. He just tried to laugh it off as best he could and make it more obvious that the scruffy man was his. Which meant more hand-holding and arm-around-the-shoulder-ing and kisses on the cheek. So what if they made a strange pair? People were going to have to get used to it anyway, especially since Kai was going to…

He had learned by now to translate “I’m fine” as “I’m miserable”, though fortunately for him Zach usually did tell him when he was unhappy (either that or it was obvious by his sulky expression). “Zaaach…” he sighed. “What’s the matt-?” Oh, the heat. Right. Kai squinted up at the sky. “Well… What would you like to do to cool off, then? I can’t remember where that ice cream place is…” He shook his head and reached over to lace his fingers with the writer’s, giving his hand a squeeze. “We’re not that close to the equator,” he chuckled. “Where would you have preferred? The Alaskan cruise?” Brrrr, no thank you. “… But I guess we should get you into the shade before you fry,” he agreed after a moment. He began meandering towards somewhere that looked shady, no real plan in mind until he got his boyfriend out of the UV rays. “What do you want to do?”

[Deleted]

Zach needed to just…not ask how much all of this cost. Nope, not asking. He wasn’t going to look at a single bill or receipt, because he knew that if he did he was just going to make himself even more uncomfortable with how much Kai was wasting spending on the writer. And then that’s all he would be thinking about the whole time and then he wouldn’t be able to enjoy himself on this vacation that he knew he was going to need at least a week to recover from considering how it’d gone so far. As it was, Zach was already uncomfortable, both mentally, from being surrounded by all these…people. And physically from the obvious yellow orb scalding them from billions of miles away.

But the people….were all of them….upper class? This boat was gigantic, how in the world were there this many richies in one place? He was supposed to be relaxing, but every single thing here, in addition to costing more money, seemed like you needed to wear a swanky tux and lift your pinky in order to blend in. Zach felt very out of place…and yet, he also felt no need to spruce himself up into something that might be considered presentable. Certainly Kai was going to get on him about that sometime. Soon.

When he wasn’t chatting up some dumb blonde who happened to catch sight of him. During those moments, Zach glared at the woman from behind his sunglasses and, for the most part, harumphed away without him. If Kai wanted to follow Zach, he knew how to walk.

So…the heat wasn’t the only thing grinding the scruffy writer’s nerves. “Niice save there, handsome,” Zach said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “We could go inside.” There was plenty of that to explore in addition to the outside decks. “Where there’s air conditioning.” He rolled his eyes in annoyance, yet didn’t take his hand away when Kai interlocked their fingers and held it as they walked. “An Alaskan cruise would’ve been great,” he said with a laugh. “Perfect for a guy with my delicate complexion. Have you ever actually looked at me before? I’m white as plaster, though I’m going to be as red as a lobster if we don’t find something to do that doesn’t involve a slow roasting.” Where did all this sass come from? Must’ve leaked out his pores with all that sweat that was dampening his hair. Zach followed Kai to said shady place, though honestly, it didn’t do much good. Heat was heat, even when out of the sun. Zach took off his sunglasses a moment and started wiping them down. “Um….I don’t know….maybe go to the casino downstairs?” Where there was several floors between it and the sun.

[Malachai Roen]

Zach was going to have to get used to this if he was planning on being with Kai for any length of time (which the Taiwanese man hoped he would be, obviously). The younger man was very experienced with and relaxed in these sorts of scenarios, as could be seen by the leisurely way he walked and smiled around them. In his younger years, he might have cringed to be seen with someone as…. Unkempt… as Zach, but he was old enough (and in love enough) now that it didn’t bother him as much. Would he like to see the writer get dressed up and cleaned up? Yeah, of course, and he might ask for that for dinner tonight (for certain reasons), but that didn’t mean he would get after him all the time. Zach was a good-looking man when he tried.

Okay, so sure, it wasn’t the same as a gorgeous woman, but… Most of the ladies that were trying to flirt with him on this ship didn’t really spark his interest like they might have a year or two ago. Sure they were pretty and all, but they seemed… Desperate. Too ready to fling themselves at him. At least with Zach, he’d had to work to get where they were now, and that made the whole thing that much more precious. Which was why Kai would chase after the writer whenever he ‘harumphed away’.

He blinked dumbly as Zach explained where he wanted to go, and the reasons why. “Right… Inside,” he replied with a chuckle. “Alright, whatever you want, babe. Maybe there’s ice cream in there too.” More than likely. Kai just had a craving for the stuff right now (okay, maybe even he was a little bit warm). He began leading his boyfriend towards some doors that led into some sort of tourist shop or something. A happy Zach was a less cranky Zach, after all. “Brrrr….” Kai shivered at the thought. “Okay… next time we can do that… but only if I can bring my long underwear.” He sent a teasing smile at the writer. “I have looked at you, believe it or not. You’re as beautiful as a porcelain doll.” He leaned over and gave Zach a smooch on the cheek. Finally they managed to reach the indoors, and it felt like walking into a fridge; Kai shivered a little. “Jeeze, they really have the AC cranked up in here, don’t they?” he muttered. Ah well, it was what Zach wanted. Kai still didn’t have his shirt on, though, which was alright with him. “The casino?” he mused. “Down there in the dark, away from all the fun?” And the sun. “Okaaaay, if that’s what you’d like…” Kai had been doing what he wanted for a while, after all, it was time his lover did too. “But first. Ice cream.” He was still on that mission. Kai tugged Zach gently along as he began meandering, looking for a sign.

[Deleted]

Zach was used to Kai.  He was not used to Kai’s lifestyle.  Or rather, the social-lifestyle.  Inside, at Kai’s home, just the two of them, Zach was fine.  Maybe still a little grumpy, but that was just Zach.  He was comfortable enough with that and Kai roaming around the house like he did without being half as bothered and out-of-place as he was feeling right now.  It was just the social expectation that Zach would rather avoid more than anything.  It was tiresome, stressed him out, and exhausting.  Did he mention stressed out?  The fact that he knew he couldn’t meet a lot of those expectations(or just plain didn’t want to) just made it more stressful.  Zach was sure that Kai knew and understood this….at least he should by now.  Either way, Zach wouldn’t be putting up with any of it if he didn’t love the man immensely.  Zach would never say that, though.  Maybe.  At least not in public. 
 
“Fine, you can bring it, but only if it has sexy pink polka-dots on it.”  Zach didn’t really want to imagine Kai in long underwear…unless.  Zach smirked and looked back to his lover.  “And it has to have one of those little flaps in the back. You know…the kind that goes over your butt.”  Even sexier, yup.  Zach rolled his eyes.  “Have you ever actually looked at a porcelain doll?” he asked, giving Kai an incredulous, yet slightly amused look.  Zach shook his head. “You need to come up with better comparisons.”
 
The writer released a very audible “Ahhhh!” the moment the pair headed inside and were blasted with  a chilling wall of air-conditioned air.  He took of his sunglasses, a smile finally appearing on his lips.  “That’s better,” he said, closing his eyes and turning his sweat-glistened face up towards the vent where the cold air was blowing from.  He may have been in the way of pedestrian traffic by doing so, but he didn’t care, they had legs, they could go around.  Zach smiled at Kai’s complaints though.  “Feels perfect to me,” he said cheekily.  Already Zach was feeling better, being out of the sun was the first step. Now to get away from the people.  “Yeah, the casino,” Zach confirmed.  “You’ve have been to a casino before, right?”  And here Zach thought that Kai would enjoy such a place, if only so he can hit on the girl at the blackjack table or whoever.  Not that that’s what Zach wanted him to do, but….  Oh, well, Zach could enjoy it all by himself if he had to.  Zach snickered, finally stepping further inside and away from the door.  There was an elevator around here somewhere, right?  Or should they take the center escalator so they could ‘sightsee’ on the way down. And maybe find that ice cream.  “You really have a fixation for ice cream today, don’t you?” he said, poking fun at the younger man.  Speaking of poking, Zach poked the man as they walked, hands still linked together.  Zach’s mood seemed to be improving. 

[Malachai Roen]

Kai knew that Zach wasn’t as much of an extrovert as he was… Or at all, really. Which was why he didn’t always invite him along to social gatherings – not because he was embarrassed of him or anything, but for his own comfort. See, he could be considerate! He still hadn’t said anything to his parents, although he wouldn’t be surprised if Sera had, or would soon. And then…. Well, he would tackle that hurdle when it got there, because he knew it wouldn’t go smoothly.

Kai snorted. “The polka dots are red, is that close enough?” he teased. He was too vain to really own such ugly things; he would rather freeze than look like a bum. His eyebrows rose at the older man’s continued teases. “Oh, right, so you can use that back door like you always do,” he shot back. Kai smirked to himself. Zach was the one that should be wearing them, in that case. They had pretty solid positions in that part of their life, for good reason. “… Maybe.” Kai tried to remember if he had or not. “Oh come on, babe, it’s totally accurate. The pale skin, the unkempt hair, the scruff and grumpy scowl. You’re exactly what I imagine they look like.” He snickered and nudged Zach’s shoulder playfully.

“Or maybe I should call you a polar bear,” he added with an amused smile as they walked inside. “White and enjoys the freezing cold.” Kai waited nearby, and out of the blast of cold air, while Zach cooled off. Maybe he should have brought a shirt along…. Going shirtless to the casino wasn’t exactly classy. Kai bit his lip and looked around. Should he dare…? “Hold on,” he mumbled, going to a rack of tourist shirts. Urgh. What was this stuff made out of? It was so rough and stiff. But… Within a few moments, Kai had purchased the over-priced merchandise and tugged it on over his head. It was probably the first time Zach had ever seen him in a plain t-shirt. “Okay, now that I’m not freezing to death, what were you saying? Right, casino. Of course I’ve been to one before.” Spent a lot of money in them, too. “Maybe you’ll hit the jackpot and we can be rich together.” Kai flashed his teeth in a smile as they wandered. He had no idea where he was going, but before too long he spotted a promising sign. “I do,” he said casually with a nod. “Probably pregnancy cravings.” He snorted and glanced sideways at his lover. “What, am I not allowed to want junk food sometimes?” Kai stepped up to the counter under the sign and quickly purchased a large cone of chocolate raspberry ice cream. “Do you want something?” he asked Zach, reaching for his wallet.