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Scorch
by Luthien

 
Brilliant sunlight.

Dazzlingly brilliant sunlight.

Dazzlingly brilliant sunlight that bounced off the crashing waves and the
powder white sand with equal ferociousness. The beach curved in a perfect
crescent, framing the impossible blueness of the waves that foamed
startlingly white as they broke close to shore. There must be a sudden
shallow there, a sandbar or - more likely - rocks just below the waterline,
to cause the waves to dump like that just short of the beach, Apollo thought
as he took in the sight.

Apollo was standing on the end of a small cliff, a headland of
light-coloured rock that jutted out into the water. The position provided
him with an uninterrupted view of the whole beach, from where it started at
the next headland along to where it tapered to an end just below him. He
remained there, silent and unmoving, continuing to take in his surroundings,
still amazed at what they'd found here while on a mission to check the
mineral composition of this planet's seawater.

The place was picturesque beyond belief. It looked too perfect to be real,
consciously created rather than any accident of nature. It was, quite
simply, stunning. It was also giving Apollo a headache, despite the safety
goggles he wore, which were designed to cut out the worst of the glare. What
would it be like to view that scene with the naked eye? Stupid question. The
retina would be burnt away in an instant, impossible to see anything even
had his eyes been able to distinguish water from sand in the glare.

"You're really sure that we can't take these things off?" a voice asked
plaintively from a little way behind him.

Apollo turned, unsurprised. It was Starbuck, of course: there was no one
else here. In fact, there was no one else - nothing else living - on the
entire planet as far as they could tell. They were alone on a dead world. It
should have been depressing and yet - and yet - it was the sort of place
that didn't really lend itself to those sorts of sentiments. The waves
continued to crash, belying the stillness of death, and the sand still
glittered, pretending to be a thousand million tiny jewels just waiting to
be plundered.

"I suppose you could put it to the test if you really wanted to," Apollo
replied with exaggerated patience, "but I'd hate to be put to the trouble of
having to break in a new wingmate at this late date."

Apollo was certain that Starbuck rolled his eyes at that, although of course
he couldn't actually see Starbuck do it because of the tinted goggles that
they both wore.

"Okay, okay! I was just wondering..." Apollo could hear the frustration in
Starbuck's voice, and see his discomfort in the way he kept shifting
slightly, unable to remain still in the blistering heat. "Tell me again just
why we were the ones that were given the honour of checking out this
planet?"

"I think Tigh thought that he was doing us a favour. He said something about
giving us a nice, easy assignment for once, with minimal danger."

"Ha!" Starbuck replied. "A favour is when you get sent on a mission to
somewhere you actually want to go, like... hmmn, remember that pleasure
resort on Sagitaria? The women who ran that... now there were some people
who knew how to have a good time!" He smiled reminiscently for a moment
before his lips quirked into a frown. "Instead, I'm stuck here with you," -
he jabbed a gloved finger into Apollo's chest - "checking the salt levels of
a dead ocean," - the finger moved to point accusingly at the unending
blueness before them - "I'm overdressed and covered in sweat, and to top it
all off I can't even strip off and go for a swim even though the whole
planet is nothing but beach and water. This is definitely not my idea of a
favour!"

Apollo turned away to hide a smile. Starbuck had never been fond of
tranquillity or quiet. To him, there was nothing better than a crowd of
people, plenty to drink and eat, the opportunity to game and the opportunity
for... other pleasures of the flesh. So he said, and so his behaviour
implied, at least. Apollo couldn't help wondering if Starbuck had noticed
the stark beauty of this place, though, or if it really was as boring for
him as he said it was. Apollo could never be completely sure of Starbuck
when he was in this sort of mood.

"No, this is no favour," Starbuck went on. "This is Tigh's idea of
retribution. I just wish I knew exactly what it is that he's found out
about!" He looked out at the water in disgust again. "So, do you think we've
tested enough samples of the water, or do you feel the need to try some
more, just to be sure that it's all the same? Or maybe we could check for a
hidden Cylon base over the other side of the next sand dune. If we did find
one, that might liven things up a bit, at least."

"I think we're just about done, Starbuck," Apollo said calmly. "There's too
much salt in the water for it to be of any use to us. The place is pretty,
but there's really not much worth- " Apollo broke off as a sudden,
extra-large wave near the far end of the beach caught his eye and drew his
attention to... something he hadn't noticed before.

"Apollo? Keep telling me that we can leave. Don't stop now!" Starbuck
sounded panicky.

Apollo didn't answer immediately, just continued to stare at the other
headland, wondering if the glare was making his eyes play tricks on him, or
whether he was really seeing what he thought he was seeing.

"What are you looking at?" Starbuck asked then, his tone a mixture of
foreboding and resignation.

"I don't... I think we'd better go over there and take a closer look."

"Why did I know that you were going to say that?" Starbuck said, with an
unhappy smile. "It's only rocks, you know, 'Pol. That's all there is on this
planet. There's water and salt and rocks, and sand that used to be rocks.
That's it."

"If we go down there we'll be out of the sun. Look, you can see the shade."

"I was thinking of a little more than just shade. Something like the nice,
cool black nothingness of space, for instance."

"The sooner we get down there, the sooner we can finish up here and leave."

"You're the Captain."

"Yes, I am."

"Yes, sir, Captain, sir." There was no mistaking the mocking tone. But
Starbuck followed Apollo down the sloping dunes next to the headland and
back onto the beach, just the same. When all was said and done, Apollo was
the Captain, and neither of them ever forgot that.

*****

Apollo leaned closer in to the cliff face, noting the unnatural smoothness
of the rock here. He knew that he'd been right to come over and take a
closer look. Even Starbuck agreed with that now, though he had been heard to
mutter - to nobody in particular - about the irony of drowning in sweat when
there was an entire ocean of water just a few steps away. Starbuck's
protests had abruptly vanished as they'd neared their destination and he'd
realised just what it was that had caught Apollo's attention.

The thing that Apollo had seen wasn't just a patch of dark-coloured rock
near the base of the headland. The dark patch was an opening in the cliff
face. It was a cave, or perhaps the entrance to one. And it wasn't just any
sort of entry, either. It was a perfect circle.

This, at least, was no accident of nature. The round hole had been made,
there was virtually no doubt about that. Of course, it could be argued that
the smooth edges of the hole might have been the result of water rushing
back and forth through the opening with the turn of the tide day in and day
out, as ages passed. The carvings in the rock all around the hole suggested
that this probably wasn't the case, though. They were subtle carvings,
blending in effortlessly with the natural contours of the rock face. They
were impossible to discern from any distance; it was only possible to see
them close up, like this. Like the opening in the cliff face, they, too,
would have been overlooked if Apollo had not been looking in just the right
direction at just the right time of day to make out the circle at the base
of the headland.

"Do these mean anything to you, Apollo?" Starbuck indicated one particular
set of markings, directly above the hole. They reminded Apollo of the
hieroglyphs used by the Ancients - sort of.

"No. They look like they should be familiar but... No. My father's the real
scholar in the family, though, not me."

"Bets on how long it will be before he comes down here himself once we tell
him about this?"

"I don't think you'll get many takers for those sorts of odds."

They both laughed.

"So, do you want to do the honours?" Starbuck gestured meaningfully towards
the hole.

"Go ahead," said Apollo. "Here's your chance to get right out of the sun!"
He noticed the momentary look of surprise on Starbuck's face as he mentioned
that. It seemed that with the discovery of the hole and the carvings the
mission had suddenly become interesting and Starbuck was no longer so keen
to escape.

The hole was a little way off the ground - about waist height - but that
posed little difficulty for Starbuck. He braced his weight on his hands,
then hoisted the lower half of his body up. He wriggled along on his stomach
for a brief moment, and then he was gone. No more than a centon later,
Apollo heard Starbuck's shout that the ceiling height increased dramatically
not far from the hole and that he was already standing.

Apollo stopped only to grab the pack full of testing equipment in addition
to the standard gear issued for this sort of mission. He placed the pack at
the mouth of the tunnel - which he now realised was a more adequate
description of the opening in the cliff face - then pushed it inside, as
hard as he could, before hollering to Starbuck to get the torches out and
wait for him. Then Apollo pulled himself up into the tunnel.

As Starbuck had said, the height of the ceiling increased sharply not far
from the tunnel's mouth. Apollo got to his feet and moved along the narrow
confines cautiously, feeling his way along the too-smooth rock along the
side. Even so, he still managed to very nearly cannon into Starbuck before
he'd gone very far. It was very nearly pitch dark in there.

Apollo caught Starbuck's sound of exasperation a moment before he heard the
click of the fastening of the lieutenant's goggles disengaging. He was
unprepared for what Starbuck did next, though. After standing there without
saying anything for a moment - probably as long as it took for his eyes to
adjust to the near darkness - Starbuck started to laugh. The acoustics of
the place caught the sounds and then the laughs were echoing all around
them. The roof of the cave must be very high. Apollo wouldn't have been at
all surprised to find that a good section of the headland had been
completely hollowed out to form this place.

"It's okay, Apollo," Starbuck managed at last, and Apollo could hear his
friend's struggle to get his voice under control. "It's a little dim in
here, but you'll be able to see without too much difficulty if you take
those goggles off."

"Starbuck..."

"I know, I know. Trust me, Apollo. You'll want to see this."

Apollo sighed, then drew back the protective hood he wore and reached for
the clasp on his goggles. Once he'd removed them, he was relieved to be able
to feel the cool air of the cave against his skin without impediment. The
protective clothing they'd been forced to wear had at least kept them alive,
but it wasn't really designed for prolonged exposure to these sorts of
conditions. He would have to-

It was then that he realised that most of the dim light illuminating the
cave was not emanating from the entry way. Most of it was filtering down
from above. He looked up.

"Oh Lords! Is that a... skylight?" Apollo exclaimed.

"Yes," Starbuck replied, a grin in his voice. "But that wasn't what was
making me laugh. Have a look at this," he said, handing Apollo a torch.

With the aid of the torch's light , Apollo could make out Starbuck's raised
arm, pointing towards the middle of the cave, or cavern or... whatever this
place was. Apollo bit his lip as he realised just what Starbuck was pointing
at. He knew now what had made Starbuck laugh. In the very centre of the
cavern was a perfectly round  pool. Apollo could see the light catch on the
water, turning the pool's miniature waves - courtesy of the breeze blowing
in through the entry they'd used - to a shining silver.

"So I suppose you think that you're going to get that swim you've been dying
for ever since we landed here?" he enquired.

"Apollo!" Starbuck sounded hurt. "I wouldn't dream of doing such a thing!
I'm on duty!" Apollo noticed, though, that Starbuck had already discarded
the heavy outer layer of his clothing.

"That's good to hear," Apollo said, trying to sound as serious as possible.
"You can keep watch while I take some water samples from the pool, then."

"Apollo!"

"What? You don't think that's such a good set up?" Apollo pretended to think
about it for a moment. "Just reconsidering, I suppose the results of the
tests would be more accurate if we took more than one sample of the
water."

Apollo was about to add that Starbuck might want to strip off and get into
the water to collect the samples, but he was stopped by the sound of a large
splash. He wasn't really surprised: Starbuck was never one to waste time
over anything.

Apollo hurriedly stripped off the rest of his clothes. He bent down beside
the edge of the pool and shone his torch close by the surface of the water,
finding, to his surprise, that the water was clear and the smooth, flat
bottom of the pool visible. There was something to be said for the complete
absence of life on this planet - he definitely didn't want to share the pool
with tiny microbes or the slimy, primitive water plants that he'd been
half-expecting to find there.

He slipped into the pool feet first, shivering slightly as the cold water
closed over his head. He remained immersed for a few microns, letting
himself become one with the water all around him, before launching his head
and upper body upwards again. The air burst into his lungs with his first
deep breath as his head broke the surface. He flung back his head, flicking
his hair out of his face, then remained where he was, near the centre of the
pool, treading water as he looked about to see where Starbuck had got to.

Even in the gloom, he spotted Starbuck almost immediately. The lieutenant
was floating on his back near the edge of the pool - close to the steps
leading down into the water that they'd both failed to notice before, Apollo
realised.

Mentally cataloguing the steps as a point to note in his report, Apollo
found his gaze drawn back to Starbuck. He wasn't sure just why that was so:
the sight of Starbuck was hardly a novelty. They saw each other every day.
They'd certainly seen each other naked before. He wasn't sure why it seemed
different this time. Perhaps it was the unexpectedness of the situation:
floating about in an alien swimming pool located inside a hollowed out
headland could not be considered routine circumstances for this sort of
mission - for any sort of mission, really.

He could see Starbuck's wet skin, silvery as the water in the dim light. So
sleek-looking, so smooth, so- Apollo swallowed hard. Where had that come
from? He was the captain, he reminded himself sternly. He wasn't supposed to
think things like that about officers under his command. Not even -
especially not - those who were his friends. Not even - really, *really*
especially not - Starbuck.

Abruptly, Starbuck moved, righting himself in the water then moving off at a
leisurely pace towards the steps. He seemed to have all but forgotten
Apollo's presence - probably the relief of cooling off in the water after so
long wearing that too-heavy protective clothing.

Apollo wasn't even aware that he was following until he was more than
halfway there. Once he realised what he was doing, he stopped immediately
and started treading water again. He reminded himself, sternly and
seriously, about the consequences of the course of action that was
suggesting itself to him right then. He reminded himself of how sorry he'd
be later. He asked himself if all the good reasons why he'd held back from
doing something just like this for all these yahrens were suddenly worth
nothing.

Apollo smiled grimly. He knew what was right and he would do what was right.
Consequences were important. He'd got himself back under control and things
were as they should be once more and he couldn't stop looking at Starbuck.
His eyes caressed Starbuck's skin and hair, all glistening in the soft,
gloomy light. So beautiful, like a piece of art, he thought - and found
himself chuckling quietly at the thought of Starbuck's likely reaction to
being described in such terms.

But he still couldn't stop looking at Starbuck.

Apollo discovered that he was swimming again, heading unerringly toward the
steps where Starbuck lounged, his body half-submerged and his eyes closed.
The light still played down on his glistening skin. Starbuck's hair was
slick with water and had been pushed back away from his face, except for a
few strands of hair that had plastered themselves to his forehead. Apollo
noticed a droplet of water hanging perilously from the very tip of the hair.
Then it dropped, creeping stealthily down the side of Starbuck's face. It
was so simple a sight, yet it mesmerised Apollo. He could already taste it:
water mixed with sweat, water mixed with the taste of Starbuck. Water on
skin, water on eyelashes, water on lips... It all combined together in
Apollo's mind in a flurry of disconnected images and coalesced into one
overwhelming need: the need to touch. He felt as though he would die if he
didn't touch Starbuck soon - and he didn't want to die.

Just touching was all right, he assured himself. Just touching wouldn't have
consequences. All the good reasons he'd reminded himself of would not be
violated by a simple touch.

He really only meant to touch him, just gently reach out a hand and wipe the
moisture from Starbuck's face. There was nothing wrong in doing that, after
all, he told himself. Just a friend touching a friend. And if he touched
Starbuck that would be enough. He clung to that thought.

And then, somehow, he was kissing him. Not gently, either. Somehow, between
the moment when he'd decided that he could no longer refrain from touching
Starbuck and the moment when he'd actually done something about it, the
desire for contact had turned into this devouring, demanding, familiar need.
How long had he wanted this kiss? Too long. It had been something secretly
longed for, for so very long, made worse by the knowledge that it could have
been his all along, if only he hadn't...

Apollo gave in to the inevitable then. He pressed Starbuck back against the
steps as he felt the other man's body stiffen in shock at the unexpected
contact. He continued on with the kiss, determined to get as much as he
could before Starbuck pulled away. This would be his only opportunity. He
thrust his tongue deep into the wet cavern that was Starbuck's mouth - a wet
cavern in a wet cavern, he thought irrelevantly.

But Starbuck didn't pull away. Instead, Apollo found that Starbuck was
leaning into the kiss, taking it over, and his body was pressed hard against
Apollo's, wet skin sliding urgently against wet skin. Pleasure streamed
through him at the sensation and the heat contracted in his groin, making
him hard - making him harder, actually, he realised with some surprise. The
water apparently wasn't quite as cold as it had seemed at first.

He pushed his cock up against Starbuck's thigh, needing more than simple
contact now. He'd needed more than that all along; he just hadn't allowed
himself to admit that before. There was no room left for anything but honest
desire now, though. His lips left Starbuck's and moved along his jaw,
breaking the kiss but reluctant to break the contact. Apollo felt real dread
that if he stopped touching Starbuck, even for a micron, the spell would be
broken and he would have to be responsible for his actions again. His tongue
found the droplets of water on the side of Starbuck's face and Starbuck
shuddered, and reached for him, pulling him with him up the steps until only
their feet remained in the water.

And then touching was no longer enough, either. The need to be touched in
return was an even stronger imperative.

Starbuck obliged, whether through a previously undiscovered telepathic
talent or because he couldn't wait any longer, either, Apollo neither knew
nor cared. His cock was the centre of the universe, and Starbuck's mouth was
universal pleasure. He thrust hard. So good. The stroking tongue caught his
rhythm. The universe quivered in delight.

And then it stopped.

Apollo couldn't stop a cry of protest as the mouth left him, but before he
had time to demand of Starbuck just exactly what he meant by stopping *now*,
Starbuck's hand replaced the longed-for mouth. And, more. Apollo almost came
right then as he felt Starbuck's cock, hot and hard against his own.
Starbuck had both cocks in hand now. The friction was almost unbearable.

Everything was hot - too hot. Scorching, like the heat outside. Tumult of
want. Welter of needs. Frenzy of anticipation. All just words, consumed by
heat. The universe, consumed by heat in a conflagration of body against
body.

A sob caught in Apollo's throat as he came, so hard that it hurt. His
fingers dug into Starbuck's skin, as he was dragged into that place where a
single clear tone rang out. He hung there, suspended for an endless moment.
Then he was back on the floor of the cavern, spent and panting.

It took Apollo a while to realise that Starbuck had come, too - probably
almost at the same instant that he had. His face burned slightly at the
realisation that he'd been too involved in what he was experiencing himself
to be aware of his lover's needs. He'd have to make sure that he did better
next time.

Next time? When this time shouldn't ever have happened in the first place?
That was a question worth contemplating, even though a part of his mind
protested at the very idea of doing anything more than lying here, boneless
and replete, for the foreseeable future.

They stayed where they were for some time. Perhaps Starbuck was as reluctant
to break the contact as Apollo. Perhaps he was simply unable to move in the
aftermath of it all.

Finally, Apollo propped himself up on one elbow and asked thoughtfully, "Why
did we just do that?"

Starbuck's head shot up at that. "You're asking me?" he demanded
incredulously, all his previous languor suddenly gone. "I wasn't the one
who jumped his best friend without so much as a by your leave!"

"I didn't hear you complaining too hard," Apollo replied.

"If you remember, my mouth was kept fairly busy - not to say full - for a
lot of the time."

"And you didn't think there was anything at all... unusual about that?"

"I didn't have much opportunity to think much at all! And how do I know
what's usual for you, anyway? It's been a very long time, you know."

"Yes." Apollo smiled briefly, remembering their younger selves. "Neither did
I - have much opportunity to think about it then, I mean - but I'm thinking
about it now."

"You regret it," Starbuck said flatly.

"No!" Apollo said, genuinely surprised. He was having serious suspicions
about just what the catalyst for the encounter had been, but he knew that
that was all it had needed: something to trigger what was already there,
between them. "I don't regret any of it. It's just occurring to me now that
the timing is... odd."

It was Starbuck's turn to look thoughtful. "The dedicated, hardworking
Captain Apollo, you mean? He's really not the sort of person to go in for
that sort of thing - at least, not while he's on duty, anyway."

Apollo didn't even have to look to know just what sort of mischievous grin
would be adorning Starbuck's face right then. "Yes, that was what struck
me," he said.

"You think there's some sort of alien aphrodisiac in the water?"

"I'm not sure. Could be. I think it's more than just the water, though.
Everything we did as soon as we got in here seemed a little... off to me, a
little unbalanced. I mean sure, you're... impetuous sometimes, Starbuck, but
to dive into a pool like that, on an unknown planet without even knowing if
the water was safe, or if there was anything else in the water, or how far
down the bottom was..."

"Okay, okay, you've made your point! No need to rub it in that far!"

Apollo smiled slightly. "But you see what I mean? Maybe it's the water,
maybe it's something about the whole place. I think it lowers our
inhibitions somehow and exaggerates aspects of our personalities. It builds
on what's already there."

"What's already there, Apollo? Was all of that already there?" Starbuck's
voice sounded deadly serious. Apollo wished that he could see his face
properly; this was suddenly terribly important.

"What do you think?"

"I asked you first."

Apollo closed his eyes for a moment. Once he said it, there could be no
going back.

"Yes," he said.

It was major - and uncharacteristic - concession. And Starbuck knew it. He
smiled, but "Good," was all he said in response. To Apollo's surprise, he
got up, picking up a discarded torch as he did so.

"I'll be right back," he told Apollo, and Apollo watched, slightly bemused,
as Starbuck headed back toward the entrance.

True to his word, a bare couple of centons later, Starbuck was back. "Just
thought I'd check up on conditions outside before I said any more," he
explained cheerfully.

"And?" Apollo prompted.

"Sandstorm," Starbuck said simply, coming back to sit beside Apollo again.
"Couldn't you hear it? There's no way we can go out there now; it'd cut our
skin to ribbons, even wearing those." He indicated the piles of discarded
clothing on the far side of the pool. "I guess we'll just have to stay in
here and wait it out." His hand touched Apollo's shoulder. "Can you think of
anything we can do to pass the time?" His lips were a breath away from
Apollo's face now.

"I'm sure you can help me think of something," Apollo assured him, then
bridged the gap between them, fitting his mouth carefully against Starbuck's
lips, where it belonged.
 

*****
End
*****