the other side of paradise

// and i hear your ship is comin' in, your tears a sea for me to swim in
and i hear a storm is comin' in, my dear, is it all we've ever been? //

It looks like the road has been eaten by the ocean, the way that Sunjata guides Nate to the spot that he’d picked. It was off the beaten path, as it were, as if the only roads that existed here weren’t just trails made by the wild animals that tended to roam through. He’d picked a wonderful spot, just far enough from the water to not cause any issues with people passing by, just far enough to keep the home from flooding during the worse of the weather, and just close enough to be able to still see the ocean’s waves through the foliage that surrounds the area.

“This is it.” He boasts quite proudly, gesturing to a flat area of land that he’d marked with a specific pattern of stones to make sure he hadn’t forgotten it. And just like that, each corner of where the house would end up had been carefully mapped out. The size, that is, given that Sunjata certainly hopes Nate has ideas on how it looks inside.

So saying, the Attuned flashes Nate a brilliant grin and promptly sits his ass down in the middle of the grassy clearing, peering up at Nate with bright steel and loose shoulders, the most boyish and playful he’s been in what feels like years. “You can tell me just how much you love it anytime.” He teases, flashing a wink before sitting back on his hands.

anchor up to me, love. anchor up to me, love. anchor up to me, love

SUNJATA

i hate my weaknesses, they make me who i am. it makes no difference, i'm insignificant

“This is it.” Nate echoes breathlessly, looking around the space, the stones that mark out the edges of where a house will soon stand. Where a their home will soon stand. He doesn’t share his husbands ease, not at first, not as he steps around the area, stomping in some places and shifting things around in others. He comes back to Sunjata’s side after a moment though, ocean eyes staring out towards the just distant enough water, imagining he can smell the salt along with the sound of the waves.

A hand reaches down, fingers stroking through the new length of Sunjata’s hair, twisting and curling in the loose brown waves. “I think it’s fuckin’ perfect.” Nate let’s the words drop as smoothly as he can, dropping down to his knees beside the attuned and wrapping an arm around him. “You did good sonskyn.” A kiss presses against Sunjata’s cheek, managing to be serious for a moment before Nate blows a raspberry against his cheek.

The ascended would be content to stay there until the sun set and the moon rose above them, until the whole stupid war had blown over, but they didn’t live a life quite so charmed. Gotta lotta work ahead of us, baby.

NATE

// and i hear your ship is comin' in, your tears a sea for me to swim in
and i hear a storm is comin' in, my dear, is it all we've ever been? //

He has promptly sat his ass down in the middle of the clearing he’s picked for their home, waiting for Nate’s approval with a near almost bated breath. Steel eyes follow his husband as he goes from edge to edge, perimeter to perimeter, before watching and grinning as Nate approaches, leaning into the fingers that slip through his much longer dark hair, letting a bit of the panther shift slip through under the attention (and lets be real, the panther shift does enjoy quite a bit of petting).

His head lowers a fraction as Nate drops to his knees and Sunjata’s already reaching up to wrap his arms around Nate as the Ascended does the same, eyes slipping shut as the kiss is pressed to his cheek, before he snickers and wiggles within Nate’s grasp, huffing and rolling his eyes before his head drops to Nate’s shoulder. So much work. He sighs, before his head tilts to peer up at Nate with bright blues, reaching up to run his hand along the short fuzz of dark hair circling parts of Nate’s head. It was going to be a lot of work, but Sunjata finds he won't mind it one bit given that it's done with the love of his life.

Where do we start? Digging for the foundation, building the frames? He doesn’t make an effort to move yet, wanting to plan it out with his husband before he has to peel himself out of Nate’s touch for the moment.

If nothing else, he does imagine that spending the night under the stars with the grasses surrounding them and their work both done and ahead of them, would be all that much more rewarding, curled up around his husband either in this form or his panther shift for old time’s sake.

anchor up to me, love. anchor up to me, love. anchor up to me, love

SUNJATA

i hate my weaknesses, they make me who i am. it makes no difference, i'm insignificant

A shiver drips down Nate’s spine at the whisper soft feeling of fingers against his head. He’s not sure if he’s simply hyper aware of it right now, or if his head is truly more sensitive without the weight of his hair. Its going to be perfect. They were going to make it perfect, together. A home just for their family.  

Foundation first. Nate says matter of factly, trying to not think too hard about just how much work really laid ahead of them. We can use the dragon to dig it pretty quick I bet. The sly grin on his face has nothing to do with the cleverness of his idea and everything to do with the cool, full mouthed kisses he presses against Sunjata’s neck.

NATE

// and i hear your ship is comin' in, your tears a sea for me to swim in
and i hear a storm is comin' in, my dear, is it all we've ever been? //

It is going to be perfect, and the only answer Sunjata has is the low thrum of sound that slips from his throat as Nate nestles in. Means we’re going to have to mark it. He comments idly, distracted of course by the way his husband’s lips dance along his neck, over scars silvery and faded, shiny and new. There’s a bright hum of a laugh that leaves him, however, enough that it jostles his chest. Dragon it is. Comes the soft agreement, the Attuned’s head tilting sideways to give Nate more room for the kisses that linger on his tattooed neck.

A few moments later and his hands are raking through short velvet fuzz and the longer, curled tresses that eventually his hand finds a home along the demigod’s neck, fingers pressing in against the back of it with blunt nails as he awaits the bite. They have so much work to do that he tries to keep his head steady, made difficult as it always is when Nate’s teeth sink in. There’s the hitch of breath, the shiver that racks his spine. He isn’t quiet with the groan that leaves his lips, the way his hands clutch Nate to him tighter, and when Nate pulls away he’s flushed and smoldering, simmering and shivering, trying to regain control.

He manages, though, not before pushing himself against Nate, pressing a greedy, hungry, devouring kiss to his husband’s lips before he pushes himself up on to his feet a bit unsteady. “Shall we, then?” He asks through a hoarse voice, hoping that shifting and distracting himself would make it easier to put the feeling aside.

anchor up to me, love. anchor up to me, love. anchor up to me, love

SUNJATA

i hate my weaknesses, they make me who i am. it makes no difference, i'm insignificant

My favourite. Nate has time to purr before he’s leaning in, biting down. He’s careful, more so than he needs to be, to only take enough for a shift, to not tarry in pleasure, but he still keeps himself pressed close to Sunjata when he withdraws. A handful of hurried kisses press to the attuned’s neck, that warmth glowing in Nate’s eyes when he pulls back completely and smiles at his husband. He’s pulled back in almsot immediately, humming into the kiss and looking far more dazed when they part this time.

“You go on ahead, I’m gonna mark the edges.” Nate’s voice is small, instead of hoarse, the words kept privately between the pair of them. Even with the plan set, it takes him another long moment to move, leaning back away from Sunjata and smiling, then turning to find something he can use as a rough unit of measurement. Sure, marking the corners is a little less glamorous than ripping up the ground, but it’s arguably more important. And, as an added bonus, Nate gets to keep an interested eye on his husband as he shifts and lets loose a little.

NATE

i saw you comin' with the gun in your hands

The hurried kisses to his neck when Nate pulls away are only sparks of lightning to the already overwhelming feeling that flushes his skin and devours his mind. And he swallows hard against it all, fruitlessly so, failing when he spies the daze in his husband’s vibrant gaze and the warmth that extends toward him (and gods what he wouldn’t give to just sit there and relish in it the rest of the day and night). There’s time for that though and Sunjata nods slowly, a brighter gleam breaking through the smoldering steel as he nods to his husband and offers a gentle smile back. “Alright.” It’s breathy but soft and he warbles on his feet a fraction before stepping away from Nate to take up the biggest and most predatory shift of his.

Man becomes dragon in what seems like the blink of an eye and Sunjata’s already marked one side of the ground to begin the foundation while Nate finishes it up – slit steel glancing over toward the Ascended as he shifts as well, and Sunjata realizes that even more so in this shift Nate would be able to feel just how much warmth Nate’s brought to him. Looks good on you. He hums offhandedly with a sharp, toothy, draconic smile (it isn't clear whether he means the dragon shift or the construction); but he still gets to work, wings tucking in tight and large taloned hands digging through the earth and making piles on the ‘outside’ of the ground, going as deep as he thinks is necessary as he starts to carve out the perimeter for the house first.

i can't want this, i can't want this

SUNJATA

A blender in a lightning storm, disguised as a blessing I'm sure

It's a lot of guesswork on his part, things that he's going to have to come back and look over again, but the edges of what will soon be a home are marked out, leaving him with no more reasons to hesitate. He stretches into the stolen skin of a dragon, wings spreading wide and his neck stretching out towards Sunjata to press their snouts together in the mimic of a kiss. I think I wear it better than you. Nate boasts, lingering a moment longer in his husbands face before slipping back and tucking everything in tightly so they can work together in the somewhat cramped space.

Digging out  the foundation actually goes quickly between the two of them, Nate making sure they go a little deeper than they really need to, so there’s room for the stabilizing materials, the layer of gravel and stone and clay. By the time they’ve tamped everything down, the sun is setting, slipping away over the horizon, and Nate is back in his own skin, setting up a tent (tarp) and looking towards his husband, a memory of warm pressure and soft black fur washing at the shore of Sunjata’s mind.

NATE

// and i hear your ship is comin' in, your tears a sea for me to swim in
and i hear a storm is comin' in, my dear, is it all we've ever been? //

A huff of a draconian laugh leaves Sunjata, but his neck cranes back to nuzzle his husband before he’s pulling away and the two of them are getting to work. The digging goes easily, the foundation mapped out and the ground torn up and already laid with a bit of the foundation so that it might start to dry over the night.

He doesn’t return to his human shape when Nate does, instead letting the Ascended set up the tarp in what would be a makeshift tent for them. He does, however, feel the pang of nostalgia Nate offers and he turns from dragon to panther, slipping into the tent to crawl across Nate like some heavy sleeping blanket.

The next day is overcast, the scent of dew on the air, and when Sunjata wakes he already knows Nate’s ready to go. And he finds himself slipping out of the tent, prepared to begin laying the framing for the rooms into the foundation they’d laid out, but not without shifting back into himself to start, while also ensuring he gives his husband quite a tight hug. “I think we can get the framing done today and work on the roof?” He suggests, already ruefully pulling himself away from his husband to get to work.

anchor up to me, love. anchor up to me, love. anchor up to me, love

SUNJATA

i hate my weaknesses, they make me who i am. it makes no difference, i'm insignificant

His silent plea is answered, Nate cuddling insistently with the panther that climbs in to sleep on top of him. Fingers thread through the luxurious fur all but automatically as Nate drifts into a warm calm, his thoughts nestled in closely against Sunjata's dreaming mind. It's the calmest he's been in a while, the closest to sleep he's been in longer, a knot of tension undone in his shoulders when they get up in the morning.

Sinking into the tight embrace Sunjata offers, the demi-god hugs back with all four arms, just as reluctant to pull back. "I think that sounds manageable." Nate hums as he stretches. "We should get the roof gambles made first, and then we can get everything together." It's looking to be a day of busywork, cutting and hammering and eventually, slotting things together. There's breaks for food whenever they feel like stopping, and Nate's hands on his husband as often as he can, sometimes just holding hands whenever they have a free moment.

The end of the day comes later this time, the sun a mere suggestion on the horizon when Nate suggests a bonfire, thinking about something warm to eat after their work.

NATE

// and i hear your ship is comin' in, your tears a sea for me to swim in
and i hear a storm is comin' in, my dear, is it all we've ever been? //

“Sure.” Sunjata offers, a brighter smile shot his husband’s way briefly before they’re fully apart and Sunjata takes to his work. For the most part, he manages it – arms and hands a bit sore, new types of callouses forming on his hands, ones that he easily shoves into Nate’s hands for part of the cooling sensation as well as the need to simply cling to the demigod.

Regardless, they get the work done, the frames set and the second floor prepped and ready with frames and dried flooring, the cut outs for the ladder to slip into. And with that entirety done, Sunjata’s a mess of sweat and hard work that sinks beside his husband when the bonfire’s made, shifting to rest his head in Nate’s lap while Nate focuses on the food (because we all know Sunjata’ll fuck it up regardless). He clings to Nate when he can, and when he notices the clouds clearing up and bats taking to the skies in droves, Sunjata’s steel gaze finds Nate’s. “We could watch the stars tonight?” He suggests, sitting up in order to eat, keeping his shoulder buried against Nate’s side.

And once they’re done eating, he snuggles in for another quick nights rest with his husband for the start of yet another day.

anchor up to me, love. anchor up to me, love. anchor up to me, love

SUNJATA

i hate my weaknesses, they make me who i am. it makes no difference, i'm insignificant

Nate is mindful of the difference the work has on them, enough to be smug and caring by the end of the day, a taunting grin thrown towards Sunjata as he shows off how utterly unbothered he is, and gentle kisses pressed to newly formed blisters and callouses in the same minutes span. It’s worth it though, a home taking shape on the scraggly patch of field and beach they’d claimed.

The sky clears up, the clouds fleeing and taking with them the threat of rain, though not the chill. Even Nate can tell Deepfrost is well on the way, but for now they have the bonfire and they have each other, the stars stretching out above them. Sunjata falls asleep against him on the beach, and not for the first time Nate is glad for the strength of his arms, glad it’s enough to lift the attuned up and carry him to the relative shelter of the tent.

Another day dawns, bringing with it the smell of frost instead of dew, the sun struggling through a pale morning haze. “Roof and walls today?” Nate suggests, rubbing Sunjata’s fingers between his palms whenever his hands weren’t busy prepping a little tin of coffee. “We can sleep inside to fight if we get enough done.” And there was something uniquely exciting about that, about building something complete enough to sleep in after just a few days.

NATE

// and i hear your ship is comin' in, your tears a sea for me to swim in
and i hear a storm is comin' in, my dear, is it all we've ever been? //

He wakes not in the space he’d passed out, tired from a days work, but quietly thankful for his husband – evident in the way he presses his kisses to Nate’s cheeks, steals them from his lips, squeezing his arm and hands in passing, the loving glimmer to his gaze when Nate’s gaze catches his own each time the Ascended warms his hands. It’s cold today, but Sunjata perseveres, sure that the work they’ll do will have him kicking out heat like a furnace in no time. He cradles the cup between his hands and nods, a bright smile clinging to his lips again. “Well now there’s a goal.” He teases Nate lightly, humming a gentle laugh, feeling relatively accomplished every time he looks over at the rough structure of the house.

The coffee is downed and Sunjata and Nate get to work, putting up the walls and securing them, leaving some of the wooden framing visible yet still stuffing the inside of the walls with insulation to keep it warm with Deepfrost on its way. And when everything is nailed together and they’re working on the roof, Sunjata’s got nothing but accomplishment bursting down the bond toward his husband. He thinks it's the best idea they’ve ever had, and when he finds himself sliding down the side of the roof to land on the ground, that he’s immediately tackling the demigod with warmth and adoration. “Do we get to sleep inside?” He asks, despite the exhaustion, fully knowing the answer is yes.

And thank gods for that, because night settles in with a bite from the wind that howls through the trees nearby, and Sunjata finds himself quite comfortable inside, pointing out at random spaces in the home of walls where he might want to put something or asking for suggestions from Nate for anything that he might want there too, until he falls asleep.

anchor up to me, love. anchor up to me, love. anchor up to me, love

SUNJATA

i hate my weaknesses, they make me who i am. it makes no difference, i'm insignificant

Nate leaves much of the walls and insulation to Sunjata, if only because four arms make the construction of a fireplace go by that much faster, stone stacked together and slathered over with clay, finished before the attuned is done with the insulation. They finish it together, moving onto the roof easily, Nate intimately familiar with the best way to lay the shingles, the work finishing earliest today.

He slips to the ground first, some absent thoughts buzzing in his mind about gathering wood for a fire, and a real dinner and breakfast when he’s tackled, his distraction vanishing in the blink of an eye while pride floods through him, adding to the warmth kicked out by Sunjata. “Of course we’re sleeping inside.” And they get their fire and good dinner, warm inside the walls of a home they made. Nate follows Sunjata around the spaces, borrows a shift so they can peruse the upper level as well, planning out finishing touches, things they can spend the whole of Deepfrost working on if they wanted. They’re still in sleeping bags for the night, but it’s an even better rest than Nate had gotten the first night, somehow.

Morning comes later, Nate not minding the wasted time when it means the frost has already melted off everything by the time they’re moving. Besides, they’re only doing big details today, windows and doors, interior walls and the shelves and benches they’d talked about the night before. There’s a whole stretch where Nate simply works on the kitchen, building the ghosts of cabinets and making the spaces for an oven, a sink, a door to the basement where a cellar will go.

Later in the afternoon, when the day is finally warm, Nate starts work on the porch, deciding when it’s done that that’s where they’re stopping for the day. A rough bench looks out towards the ocean, one Nate drags Sunjata onto so they can watch the sea for a moment. There’s a ripple in the content pool of the bond just before Nate speaks, his words soft. I love you. I... I’m proud of what we made. They’re not the words that had had him worried though, Nate working his jaw. I know tis is.. we’re supposed to be relaxing here, but... I was wondering if you’d... help me with something for the Voice. It’s not... a war thing, it’s a... keeping us safe thing.

NATE