[For Alcuin] Tensile Strength

[st_eelyourself]

It took about two and a half hours of sitting at the bottom of the pool before Piotr’s water-dulled senses and the weight of his steel-coated limbs lulled him into a few moments of true peace. But as always, the flashes of his past came flooding back and the serenity he’d found was replaced by pain.

Giving up, he got to his feet and slowly walked up the gradual incline. As his head crested the water, he was nearly blinded by the sun. Squinting, he made his way over to the chair where he’d left his towel and fell into it lazily.

He’d done the same thing dozens of times before and knew that the chairs could hold his weight…but that had been when he wasn’t armored. In the space of a heartbeat, Piotr found himself laying on his back, a smashed desk chair sandwiched between himself and the ground.

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[st_unning]

Alcuin heard the crash from inside the spa.

He hurried outside, still holding a towel that he'd been folding in his hands. And he was very confused at first, seeing... was that a statue on top of the chair? Or...

He squinted as he moved closer.

[st_eelyourself]

Piotr just stared up at the blue sky for a moment, the mangled metal under him creaking slightly. He (obviously) wasn't hurt, but his pride stung a bit. How long had it been since he had forgotten what state he'd been in?

At least he had enough sense to avoid being stabbed by waiting to shift until he'd stood up properly. With the faint 'nashink' sound the silver steel of his steel was replaced with tanned skin.

Having given up on the entire lounging idea, Piotr turned around to realize he had an audience.

"Please tell me you did not see that?"

[st_unning]

Alcuin was still blinking in surprise when Piotr spoke to him.

"I, ah.... I heard the crash and came out..." Pause. "That's very, um. Interesting."

[st_eelyourself]

"I am sorry if I startled you." Piotr looked down sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "I don't spend much time in my steel form anymore. It appears I am out of practice."

[st_unning]

"Oh no need to apologize," Alcuin assured him. "To be honest, now I only wish I'd gotten a better look. I've never seen anything like it." He smiled at him.

[st_eelyourself]

"Where I am from there are a number of people who manifest unique abilities." Piotr felt himself starting to blush but before it could manifest he gave in to the flustered feeling and brought the steel back in another faint ring of steel on steel. "This is mine."

[st_unning]

Alcuin looked fascinated. He started to reach out, then stopped. "Ah, may I? I'm sorry, that's probably very rude."

[st_eelyourself]

"Of course," Piotr took a step closer and held out his arm and turned his palm face up. In most things, he did not like direct attention, but with this? This was different. It had taken him years to find a sense of pride in his abilities, but now that he had, there was no letting go.

[alcuin]

Alcuin reached out and drew his fingertips slightly down Piotr's arm. It was slightly cool to the touch.

Then he pooled his hand away, and looked back at his face. "Remarkable," he said. "But you're welcome to be however you're the most comfortable, with me."

[st_eelyourself]

Piotr flexed his arm slightly as the other man touched his arm to show off the way the metal could swell and move like skin.

"That is kind of you. Physically I am comfortable either way." He smiled, then shifted back to flesh and bone. "But because my weight and strength increase when I am armored I have hard time not breaking things."

[st_unning]

Alcuin glanced to the broken chair before looking back at him, a smile on his face.

"Were you about to get some sun?" he asked. "I was just inside cleaning up a bit."

[st_eelyourself]

"Think this will repair itself like our rooms?" Piotr gave a sheepish look, nudging the chair with a toe.

"Not really. I just tried to mediate at bottom of pool and it was less relaxing than I would have liked, I thought sun might help instead." Looking away from the other man and back where he'd come from. "Do you work in spa?"

[st_unning]

"It feels a bit odd calling it work, but yes," Alcuin said, glancing back at the spa. "I do massages sometimes, and just try to keep the place tidy..."

He brightened. "Would you like a massage? It seems like your muscles might get tense, shifting back and forth like that."

[st_eelyourself]

"That is kind of you, I have found myself tense lately. Bending over sketch pad for hours is not good for my shoulders." Piotr said, a hint of a smile. "I have never had massage. It has always seemed unfair to inflict all of this," he waved to his immense body, "on unexpecting masseuse."

[st_unning]

"Well as you can see, I am not unexpecting," Alcuin said with a little smile. "Besides, you have a lovely body. Though I do think you might be uncomfortable on the massage table."

[st_eelyourself]

"I guess I cannot refuse," he blushed bright pink. "Thank you, I do not think I've been called 'lovely' before. I cannot take all of the credit. My mutation makes forming muscle easier and has given me my large frame, but if I do not maintain my strength I would not be able to move my limbs when they are coated in steel."

He rubbed the back of his neck, "I do not think the table will be problem. Nothing here is as uncomfortable as place I came from."

[st_unning]

"I cannot take any of the credit for how I look," Alcuin pointed out, finding himself rather charmed by the blush. "We are what we are, hmm? And I would like to hear more about this mutation, perhaps while I ease your tension. Come on then." He nodded to the spa.

He really did think that the massage table would be rather small for him, but was reluctant to suggest they find a bed instead, as he did not want Piotr to assume he was suggesting something... unprofessional.

[st_eelyourself]

"You have lovely body as well. Very graceful. But you can take some credit, I have seen you practicing." Piotr said, rubbing the back of his neck a little awkwardly. "To be honest, I am still getting used to being accepted for what I am."

With that nod, Piotr was happy to follow. He hadn't had the courage to go into the spa before, so he was intrigued. "Did you give massages back in your world or is it a pasttime you started here?"

[st_unning]

"I did massages back home sometimes as well," said Alcuin, without elaborating. They walked inside, and it smelled very lightly of sandalwood; he had lit a candle in the back room earlier.

"There you are," he said, gesturing to a massage table. Considering that Piotr was already shirtless, he did not give his usual line of removing as much clothing as they felt comfortable with, as he thought that the implication that he could be naked might cause him to blush again.

[st_eelyourself]

"It is interesting, what part of our old lives we can bring here," Piotr rumbled, taking in the soft light and gentle smells.

The massage table certainly wasn't his size, but Piotr had dealt with smaller. Not wanting a repeat of the chair fiasco, he laid down gently on his stomach. His shoulders were a touch too wide but there was still room for his arms at his sides. And yes, his feet and half of his calfs hung off of the bottom, but that was normal for him. He tilted his head to the side so he could see the other man. "See, is no problem."

[st_unning]

Alcuin grinned and walked around him. "Okay, but let me know if you're uncomfortable at all, all right?"

He stood on his tip toes to get a bottle of massage oil from the cabinet above the table. "Is there anything I ought to know?" he asked. "Any injuries? Places I shouldn't touch you?"

[st_eelyourself]

"I can promise that you will know it I'm uncomfortable." Piotr chuckled, turning his head to watch the other man's movement around the room.

"No injuries. Spending time in my armored form heals me of most things." He didn't understand why it did, but he couldn't argue with the results. He'd literally held his heart in his hands and was somehow still alive. Pushing the memory aside, he tried to focus on the present. "But...my knees are ticklish?"

[st_unning]

Alcuin chuckled at that last bit, as he rubbed oil between his hands to warm them. "Well one of the things about being a good masseuse is being attuned to the person's reactions," he said. "What feels good, what doesn't."

Same with sex, actually. Which was more what he'd been trained for in this context, but it was a skill he found broadly applicable.