open: it's an old song - and we're gonna sing it again

[papadopoulos]

Music is love’s food
Heh, my son said that. Sort of.
Anyway, he’s right.


Summer has always been one of Apollo’s favorite seasons. That stands to reason – the sun is out longer, it is warm, and there’s plenty of light about. Spring isn’t half bad either, he has always been one to appreciate the beauty of nature in an early spring; though he is no nature god. It should be no surprise, then, that he is out and about exploring the woods these days, spending as much time out of doors as he possibly can. He flits from one activity to the other quite frequently, it’s hard when you’re a god with too many interests.

In the early morning, he can be found at the archery range. He’s always been an early riser (except when he was Lester, occasionally), and by the time most people are out and about, there is a fine collection of arrows embedded in the center of the target. He remains there for some time, enjoying the simple pleasure of being able to actually hit the target properly after his six months as a mortal.

A bit later in the day, Apollo is still outside, settled under a tree with his guitar. If anyone is out and about, they will hear him singing. The song is in Ancient Greek, full of the sorrows and longings and everything that he’s experienced in his short time here in the mansion – but above all, there is a small thread of hope running through it. It jumps from slow and contemplative, a shared grief to joyous and optimistic in quick succession –spring is the time for rebirth, after all. He may as well sing of the small hope the mansion has with the recent happenings. Those who encounter the song will hear something that is possibly the best music they have ever heard. It’s nothing altogether special for Apollo, of course, but in his playing he has forgotten to keep his powers tamped down like they usually are.

Comments

[papadopoulos]

Apollo's mind is not exactly on the scenery, either -- unless you mean the very good-looking person that he currently has his arms wrapped around. "I don't mind not fancy," he says, returning the kiss with a slight nip into it. "It's charming. I like the flowers."

[temnota]

Aleksander wrangled them over to the bench and sat down, pulling Apollo down with him. "I've come here to write, read - I've even just laid on the bench and thought about nothing. I'm glad you like it too."

[papadopoulos]

"It's good to have a little oasis, sometimes," Apollo says, and proceeds to wrap his arms even further around Aleksander if he can manage it, smirking a little. "Privacy, y'know."

[temnota]

"Privacy," Aleksander agreed, nuzzling Apollo's cheek affectionately as he leaned into his embrace. "Whatever shall we do with it?"

[papadopoulos]

"Whatever we'd like to, I think." With that, he is going to let his hands get to wandering.

[temnota]

The moment where flirtation changed from words to touch was one of Aleksander's favorite things and he murmured happily and let himself enjoy the feeling of Apollo's hands on him. He did some exploring of his own and after a few pleasurable moments, leaned in to nip at Apollo's ear. "Tell me what you want," he whispered.

[papadopoulos]

It's been...a long time. Even by his standards, six months was longer than he'd usually let pass before finding someone to have a little fun with. It's strange, to suddenly be feeling all of these things and back in his normal body. He doesn't dislike it. Aleksander is pleasant both to talk to and to look at; and thankfully commanding in a different sort of way than other men he could think of. The touches and the request, such as it is, are making this little corner of the gardens feel as warm as summer. Apollo takes a breath and the heat lessens slightly as he smiles. "I think you can guess," he replies with a soft laugh, leaning in to that nip.

[temnota]

"Oh, I can," Aleksander said lightly, a provocative smirk on his face. He ran his hand along the side of Apollo's cheek and trailed it all the way down his body until he came to his inner thigh. He squeezed it gently then leaned in again, this time for a deeper kiss. "But I want to hear you say it. I like to know what people want so I can give it to them."

[papadopoulos]

Apollo takes a moment to return the kiss quite thoroughly. "That's sweet," he replies, stretching a little before he settles his hands at Aleksander's waist. "I'm easy, though. I can take, I can give--though right now I won't say no to being swept away by a commanding gentleman such as yourself."

[temnota]

"I do enjoy being commanding," Aleksander murmured, brushing Apollo's lower lip with his thumb. "But you must tell me if anything is too much or makes you uncomfortable. I have few hard lines but this is one of them."

[papadopoulos]

He pauses to nip at Aleksander's thumb, playful. "You got it. I can take a little rough handling, don't worry. I know my own limits."

[temnota]

"Good," Aleksander said emphatically. He kissed Apollo again, more insistently this time as he tightened his grip on his thigh.

[papadopoulos]

Apollo makes a pleased noise and presses close. "Mmhm."

[temnota]

"I hardly know what I want to do first," Aleksander whispered in Apollo's ear as he slipped both hands underneath Apollo's shirt and ran his fingers up and down his back. "I can think of so many things."

[papadopoulos]

In all truth, there is not much shirt for him to contend with, so that's a relief. Apollo warms just slightly at his touch, and practically purrs: "Good thing we've got time. We could just start with the first? Or skip ahead."

[temnota]

"It is tempting to skip ahead, I can't deny that but then I wouldn't get to hear what beautiful noises you make when you beg me to stop teasing," Aleksander said lightly as he scraped his fingernails along Apollo's spine.

[papadopoulos]

"I have been known to make beautiful noises," Apollo says agreeably, arching his back into those scratches. "So you want me to beg, huh?"

[temnota]

Aleksander kissed Apollo again, nipping at his lower lip. "That depends on you, solnyshko¹. How patient can you be?"

¹Little sun

[papadopoulos]

“I guess we’ll find out.” Apollo takes that as a cue to slip his own hands under Aleksander’s shirt, letting them roam where they please.

[temnota]

Aleksander closed his eyes and sighed happily, making himself to stop teasing Apollo for a moment so he could enjoy being touched. With every caress, his deep-seated fear around being so vulnerable eroded a little more.

"I find myself feeling a little warm," he murmured. "Would you be so kind as to help me out of it?"

[papadopoulos]

“That might be me,” he says, half-sheepish, but smirking all the same. “But yes, if you insist.” His hands roam a little more, then, but soon enough proceed to start helping Aleksander out of his shirt.

“I could have just made it disappear,” he says, moving to press close as soon as it’s off. “But this is more fun.”

[temnota]

That was quite a useful ability and Aleksander filed that tidbit in the back of his head for future considerations. For the moment, he sighed happily once his shirt was off and wrapped his arms back around Apollo, enjoying the warmth emanating from him and the contrast between bare skin and (what little there was) of Apollo's shirt. "The fun is the important thing," he said. "Disappearing clothing is beyond my power but I have found my shadows can have... useful applications."

[papadopoulos]

"Oh, yeah?" Apollo lifts his eyebrows questioningly. "We'll have to try that sometime." For now, though, he settles in to pressing kisses along Aleksander's neck, smiling. "I can do -- less than I could at home, here, but it's useful for some things."

[temnota]

"Yet another thing we have in common," Aleksander said wryly. He had much better things to do then dwell on the fact his power had been curtailed here so instead of dwelling, he tilted his head to give Apollo easier access to his neck and threaded his fingers into Apollo's hair, tugging slightly.

[papadopoulos]

Apollo makes a pleased noise and bites at his neck, again letting his hands wander where they will. "You can go harder, I won't break," he says with some amusement.