FIC: "Dolphins"
Title: Dolphins
Author's name: orphica
Written for: acacia_123
Pairing: Chris/Zach
Rating: PG-13
Prompt: Chris takes Zach to swim with dolphins and Zach is scared of them
Warnings/Kinks: Public displays of affection
Disclaimer: Not intended to be a realistic portrayal of any symptoms or treatments of phobias.
A relaxing summer vacation.
That's what it was supposed to have been, in any case.
There was supposed to be lots of sex, little clothing and drinks with umbrellas and awful dance parties with Jamaican music. Not this. Definitely not this.
Zach stared into the water, crossing his arms before glancing back at Chris.
"No. No way."
Chris walked deeper into the calm water until he stood beside him.
"What? Why not?"
"You just said there are dolphins close by!"
Everything about the beach should have been wonderful. The water was clear and blue, the sand was clean and his boyfriend was half-naked. And though there were a ton of people around, they hadn't been bothered today. But... Chris had just told him this was a popular place for wild dolphins.
Zach was scared of dolphins. All he could think about now was one of them swimming beneath the surface where he couldn't see, surprising him even at this shallow depth. An irrational fear, maybe, given how transparent the water was, but Zach hated the idea of anything swimming around him, other than the little baby fish that liked to nibble on his toes.
Chris scratched his head, looking confused at Zach's reluctance. "Yeah, exactly. They come up close to shore and play with the tourists sometimes. That's why it's so crowded at this spot."
Zach eyed him warily. He didn't want to disappoint Chris -- knowing him, it took him just as much courage to be in a crowded public area in plain view of possible paparazzi as it did for Zach to even think of being in the vicinity of dolphins. Chris must have thought he'd really like it to want to put up with the risk of being photographed.
"Dolphins are carnivores. They have sharp teeth and strong fins and you never know when they might get pissed at you. They attack sharks, for fuck's sake!"
"You're scared of the dolphins? Is that it?"
He let out a huff and crossed his arms. "I just think it's a potential Darwin Award, that's all."
Chris shrugged. "Chances are nothing like that is gonna happen, and instead we'll have happy memories of adorable wild dolphins frolicking with us."
Zach just looked at him. Then a cool breeze went by; he caught a whiff of the suntan lotion he'd rubbed onto Chris earlier, mixed with a hint of sun-sweat, and a surge of hormones ran through him. They'd been here a few days, and Chris' skin was tanning golden. Zach could think of far better places to admire Chris all wet than in dolphin-infested waters.
"Why don't we go back to the hotel? We could relax at our private beach there."
"There aren't any dolphins at the hotel."
"Exactly."
Chris started laughing.
"You are scared of them. Sweet, smiling dolphins, and you're scared. Did one attack you or something?"
Zach hit his shoulder.
"Stop making fun of me. No, no dolphin ever attacked me. I've never even touched one. It's just perfectly healthy to fear carnivores with sharp teeth."
Chris kept chuckling.
"They don't eat people, Zach. I promise."
"Look, I'm sorry to ruin your surprise, which I appreciate you planning under any other circumstance. And I know you'll be disappointed not to see the dolphins, but I'll give you a Sea World pass plus a billion blowjobs for your birthday, if we can go back to the hotel."
Chris reached out and touched his elbow lightly. Nothing that could be misconstrued as anything but friendly to any onlookers, but Zach knew the sentiment behind it.
"They might not even come by, Zach. Maybe we can just look for them, how's that?"
Zach frowned.
Chris spoke again. "I don't want to exacerbate any phobia you have going on here, but is this panic attack level fear of dolphins? What if we do whatever you would have wanted to do at our beach, but here while we wait for the dolphins? And hey, maybe, you know, you can see that dolphins are totally cool, since you've never interacted with one? Maybe this could actually help?"
Zach went to run a hand through his hair, forgetting it was pulled back with a bandana. He scratched the back of his neck instead.
"Well, if we were on the private beach, I'd sure want to do a lot of things you wouldn't do here. But maybe... maybe meeting a dolphin would help."
Chris took a step closer to him.
"I know there's a chance we'll be photographed. A good chance. But if you're okay with that, and holding my hand and hugging me and whatever, can help you work through this... well, that seems worth it to me. And then later we can go to the private beach and you can blow me all you want." Chris grinned cheekily.
Zach raised a dubious eyebrow.
"We can't hold hands on this beach. We're not even out, Chris. Much less as dating each other."
Chris shrugged. "We'll explain it away somehow. We're in between movies anyway, so nobody's really going to be looking to do stories on us, right?"
He snorted. "Gay actors always make a story."
But it sounded nice, really nice, to stop worrying about it.
Suddenly, the debate didn't even matter -- right then, Zach caught sight of a dorsal fin not too far away, and a bunch of people started to eagerly move toward it. Zach instinctively hid behind Chris, clutching his shoulder.
"Did you see it?" Chris voice became loud and high-pitched.
Zach would have found Chris' sudden regression to childhood amusing if he wasn't so nervous about the ominous glimpses of the dolphin at a too-short distance away. "Yeah, I fucking see it. It looks like a shark fin!"
Chris turned around and laid his hands on Zach's biceps. "Hey. It's not a shark. It's okay."
And then Chris walked around behind him, so that he was then pressed against his back and resting his head on Zach's shoulder. "I'll be right here. We can watch everyone play with the dolphins and I'll be right behind you."
The familiar feeling of Chris' chest against his skin was soothing. Chris slipped his arms around his middle in a loose hug. Zach sighed and relaxed ever so slightly, but he still kept a sharp gaze out over the water.
Other tourists were keeping the dolphins well occupied, but eventually one swam away from the pod and came over close to them. Zach froze, but Chris just pressed a kiss to the side of his neck.
"He's just curious, Zach. That's all. I bet you could touch him even, if you wanted to."
"That sounds like a bad idea."
"Nah."
The dolphin swam even closer. "Hold out your hand, Zach," Chris instructed softly.
Zach hesitated. Chris' hand slid down his arm, before his palm covered his hand. Zach allowed his hand to be guided, and his fingers caught just a fleeting touch of rubbery skin before the dolphin darted away.
"See? Totally fine!" Chris exclaimed with a delighted tone, as if he were five years old again.
And yeah, that hadn't been so bad. Felt weird, that was for sure, but not bad.
"I guess he was a nice dolphin after all."
Chris turned Zach around to face him and kissed him lightly on the lips. "I'm so glad you did this with me."
The corner of Zach's mouth quirked upward. "Me too. I think. But now that we just had a near-death experience, I immediately demand those blowjobs on the private beach."
Chris grinned. "Lead the way."
THE END.
Thank you to lousy_science for the beta!
Author's name: orphica
Written for: acacia_123
Pairing: Chris/Zach
Rating: PG-13
Prompt: Chris takes Zach to swim with dolphins and Zach is scared of them
Warnings/Kinks: Public displays of affection
Disclaimer: Not intended to be a realistic portrayal of any symptoms or treatments of phobias.
A relaxing summer vacation.
That's what it was supposed to have been, in any case.
There was supposed to be lots of sex, little clothing and drinks with umbrellas and awful dance parties with Jamaican music. Not this. Definitely not this.
Zach stared into the water, crossing his arms before glancing back at Chris.
"No. No way."
Chris walked deeper into the calm water until he stood beside him.
"What? Why not?"
"You just said there are dolphins close by!"
Everything about the beach should have been wonderful. The water was clear and blue, the sand was clean and his boyfriend was half-naked. And though there were a ton of people around, they hadn't been bothered today. But... Chris had just told him this was a popular place for wild dolphins.
Zach was scared of dolphins. All he could think about now was one of them swimming beneath the surface where he couldn't see, surprising him even at this shallow depth. An irrational fear, maybe, given how transparent the water was, but Zach hated the idea of anything swimming around him, other than the little baby fish that liked to nibble on his toes.
Chris scratched his head, looking confused at Zach's reluctance. "Yeah, exactly. They come up close to shore and play with the tourists sometimes. That's why it's so crowded at this spot."
Zach eyed him warily. He didn't want to disappoint Chris -- knowing him, it took him just as much courage to be in a crowded public area in plain view of possible paparazzi as it did for Zach to even think of being in the vicinity of dolphins. Chris must have thought he'd really like it to want to put up with the risk of being photographed.
"Dolphins are carnivores. They have sharp teeth and strong fins and you never know when they might get pissed at you. They attack sharks, for fuck's sake!"
"You're scared of the dolphins? Is that it?"
He let out a huff and crossed his arms. "I just think it's a potential Darwin Award, that's all."
Chris shrugged. "Chances are nothing like that is gonna happen, and instead we'll have happy memories of adorable wild dolphins frolicking with us."
Zach just looked at him. Then a cool breeze went by; he caught a whiff of the suntan lotion he'd rubbed onto Chris earlier, mixed with a hint of sun-sweat, and a surge of hormones ran through him. They'd been here a few days, and Chris' skin was tanning golden. Zach could think of far better places to admire Chris all wet than in dolphin-infested waters.
"Why don't we go back to the hotel? We could relax at our private beach there."
"There aren't any dolphins at the hotel."
"Exactly."
Chris started laughing.
"You are scared of them. Sweet, smiling dolphins, and you're scared. Did one attack you or something?"
Zach hit his shoulder.
"Stop making fun of me. No, no dolphin ever attacked me. I've never even touched one. It's just perfectly healthy to fear carnivores with sharp teeth."
Chris kept chuckling.
"They don't eat people, Zach. I promise."
"Look, I'm sorry to ruin your surprise, which I appreciate you planning under any other circumstance. And I know you'll be disappointed not to see the dolphins, but I'll give you a Sea World pass plus a billion blowjobs for your birthday, if we can go back to the hotel."
Chris reached out and touched his elbow lightly. Nothing that could be misconstrued as anything but friendly to any onlookers, but Zach knew the sentiment behind it.
"They might not even come by, Zach. Maybe we can just look for them, how's that?"
Zach frowned.
Chris spoke again. "I don't want to exacerbate any phobia you have going on here, but is this panic attack level fear of dolphins? What if we do whatever you would have wanted to do at our beach, but here while we wait for the dolphins? And hey, maybe, you know, you can see that dolphins are totally cool, since you've never interacted with one? Maybe this could actually help?"
Zach went to run a hand through his hair, forgetting it was pulled back with a bandana. He scratched the back of his neck instead.
"Well, if we were on the private beach, I'd sure want to do a lot of things you wouldn't do here. But maybe... maybe meeting a dolphin would help."
Chris took a step closer to him.
"I know there's a chance we'll be photographed. A good chance. But if you're okay with that, and holding my hand and hugging me and whatever, can help you work through this... well, that seems worth it to me. And then later we can go to the private beach and you can blow me all you want." Chris grinned cheekily.
Zach raised a dubious eyebrow.
"We can't hold hands on this beach. We're not even out, Chris. Much less as dating each other."
Chris shrugged. "We'll explain it away somehow. We're in between movies anyway, so nobody's really going to be looking to do stories on us, right?"
He snorted. "Gay actors always make a story."
But it sounded nice, really nice, to stop worrying about it.
Suddenly, the debate didn't even matter -- right then, Zach caught sight of a dorsal fin not too far away, and a bunch of people started to eagerly move toward it. Zach instinctively hid behind Chris, clutching his shoulder.
"Did you see it?" Chris voice became loud and high-pitched.
Zach would have found Chris' sudden regression to childhood amusing if he wasn't so nervous about the ominous glimpses of the dolphin at a too-short distance away. "Yeah, I fucking see it. It looks like a shark fin!"
Chris turned around and laid his hands on Zach's biceps. "Hey. It's not a shark. It's okay."
And then Chris walked around behind him, so that he was then pressed against his back and resting his head on Zach's shoulder. "I'll be right here. We can watch everyone play with the dolphins and I'll be right behind you."
The familiar feeling of Chris' chest against his skin was soothing. Chris slipped his arms around his middle in a loose hug. Zach sighed and relaxed ever so slightly, but he still kept a sharp gaze out over the water.
Other tourists were keeping the dolphins well occupied, but eventually one swam away from the pod and came over close to them. Zach froze, but Chris just pressed a kiss to the side of his neck.
"He's just curious, Zach. That's all. I bet you could touch him even, if you wanted to."
"That sounds like a bad idea."
"Nah."
The dolphin swam even closer. "Hold out your hand, Zach," Chris instructed softly.
Zach hesitated. Chris' hand slid down his arm, before his palm covered his hand. Zach allowed his hand to be guided, and his fingers caught just a fleeting touch of rubbery skin before the dolphin darted away.
"See? Totally fine!" Chris exclaimed with a delighted tone, as if he were five years old again.
And yeah, that hadn't been so bad. Felt weird, that was for sure, but not bad.
"I guess he was a nice dolphin after all."
Chris turned Zach around to face him and kissed him lightly on the lips. "I'm so glad you did this with me."
The corner of Zach's mouth quirked upward. "Me too. I think. But now that we just had a near-death experience, I immediately demand those blowjobs on the private beach."
Chris grinned. "Lead the way."
THE END.
Thank you to lousy_science for the beta!