Homeless (mxm)

A Lesson Learned

Mini golf definitely wasn't his thing. Zachary forced himself not to throw his club like that actor in Happy Gilmore. His parents used to watch that movie every Christmas, why, he had no clue. The specific part with the mini golf was what he always remembered... and he should have taken it as a warning not to try it. He'd already tried putting his way through six holes and failed miserably, then when Orion stepped into the green area to try and help direct him, he hit the poor guy in the shin with his ball.

"This is hopeless..." Zachary mumbled. He wasn't one to just quit, but considering Orion's limp and his terribly high score on their card, he had a feeling golf really wasn't his sport.

"As much as I'm against being negative, my ankle is begging me to agree." Orion said with a half-smile as he walked over and put his arm around Zach, leading him back towards the small building they entered the course from so that they could return their clubs and pencils.

"Hmm, hey Orion?" Zachary asked, looking up after they ducked inside the small entry building.

"Yes, Zachary?" Orion replied as he set his club in its holder, then took Zach's and placed it next to it. They both dropped their pencils in the box for them on the counter before stepping outside and throwing out their score paper.

"Doesn't the hotel we're staying at have an inside pool?"

Orion got the car unlocked and held open the door for him as he nodded. "Yeah, they do." He waited until they were both seated in the car and getting it turned on before looking over at Zach again. "You wanna go swimming?"

Pushing back his nervousness, Zachary nodded. "Yeah, I think it would be fun. Since it's inside, it should be heated, too."

Orion grinned as he got them back onto the highway headed towards their hotel. "True. Sounds like a plan. I think they have swimsuits in their giftshop, too, so we can just grab two before heading to the pool."

"Sounds good."

Well, it had sounded good. Getting the swimsuits wasn't a problem, as the giftshop did have several different ones to choose from. Zach let Orion pick his out, of course, not minding relinquishing the option at all. He actually liked the zebra-striped pair of trunks Orion decided on, matching them with his pair of tiger ones. The hotel even had a small locker room to change in by the pool. The real problem was when Zachary actually got close to the water and his fear shoved past the barrier he had put up to try and keep it at bay. He couldn't swim.

Orion slipped into the water seamlessly, his body relaxing as he slowly moved backwards in the water. Zachary wanted to follow, desperately. Those big strong arms called to him. He belonged there, but he couldn't even make himself move down onto the first step, the one that only had an inch of water on it.

"Hey sweetheart," Orion whispered as he reached up with one welcoming hand, startling Zach.

When had he swum back over?

Now he sat on the second step, the water halfway up his chest, looking completely comfortable in the water... and delicious. Droplets of water slowly meandered down his bare chest, the faint marks from his leather work uniform no longer visible on his smooth skin. When his fingers wiggled playfully Zachary couldn't help but take a step closer. No one else was in the pool area, thankfully, but people were the least of his worries. That water just didn't look as great as he'd imagined it in his mind earlier. He wouldn't let his worry keep him from Orion, though. With a bit of forced renewed vigor, he took that last big step to put him at the edge of the pool.

The smile that slid across Orion's lips spurred him on a little further after he recollected himself. Before Zachary knew it he was standing on the first step, hands clenched in a death-grip around the railing leading down into the water. He knew it was stupid to be afraid, especially of an inch of water, but after having an accident at the pool when he was five, swimming had been shoved to the back of his mind and the will to learn, locked away. Until now. He reminded himself. After all of the years watching other people enjoy swimming, he wanted to try. He really, really did.