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Being a fugitive wasn’t all bad. Case in point, the beachfront property that Face had recently acquired for them; Hannibal didn’t ask how. All that mattered was that the beach was a few steps from the back door, that they had no responsibilities ahead of them and that his boys were more relaxed than they’d been in years.
“You’re goin’ down, fool.” BA’s tough words were at odds with the big grin on his face.
The four men were waist-high in the ocean, concentrating on the large, striped beach ball that Face held in his hand. If they’d still been in the Army, Hannibal would have made the claim that they were in the middle of a team-building exercise. Since they weren’t in the Army anymore, they could call it what it was – play.
“That’s not what you said last ni-ight,” Murdock taunted. He had a rubber swim hat on, the type covered in flowers and that was usually worn by old ladies.
“Enough smack talk,” Face interrupted. He bounced the ball on the palm of his hand. “It’s time for – Gorilla!”
The ball went up in the air and, as one voice, the four men counted to three. They stayed still until the last syllable was out of their mouths and then it was a free for all. The object of the game was to catch the ball, to head for shore and for your team to be in possession when the ball carrier managed to get out of the water. The only rule was that there could be no movement for three seconds. After that, anything went, short of actually drowning an opponent. Hannibal and Face weren’t allowed to be on the same team, given that they had the longest arms of the group. Hannibal didn’t really mind, he loved to watch his lover in motion.
The action was fast and furious for a few moments. It didn’t matter that it was a silly beach game and not an intricate plan; the A-Team played to win. Elbows flew as the men scrambled. At first it was an even battle, but then BA roared.
“Foul!” BA flailed around in the water, but he wasn’t looking for the ball. “No fair taking a man’s drawers, fool!”
Face twirled the stolen swim trunks over his head. “Hey, not like he hasn’t seen it before. Go, Murdock, go!”
Murdock half swam, half ran towards the shore, cackling like a mad man. Hannibal was torn between stopping him and intervening as BA went after Face. In the end, Hannibal trusted Face to take care of himself and went after Murdock. Unfortunately, he was too late. Hannibal was still thigh-high in water as Murdock did a happy dance on shore.
“That’s it,” Hannibal breathed hard, leaning over with his hands on his thighs. “I’m too old for this.”
“That’s not what you said last night.” Face’s eyebrows waggled as he repeated Murdock’s taunt from before.
Hannibal pointed at Face. “Behave yourself. I’m taking a nap.”
There was an umbrella set up on the beach and Hannibal lurched over to it. He glanced over at his book and container of cigars. Despite what he’d just said, Hannibal had no intention of napping, instead he was going to lose himself the combination of a good book and even better cigar. Hannibal stretched himself out on a towel, but before he could reach for his book, a wave of sleepiness came over him. Maybe a catnap wouldn’t be out of the question.
“Just for a few minutes,” Hannibal murmured to himself as he closed his eyes.
He awoke to a tickling sensation at his feet.
Hannibal lifted his head, still half asleep. Face was kneeling on the sand next to him, a plastic bucket and scoop at his side. The younger man’s forehead was wrinkled in concentration as he carefully packed sand around Hannibal’s leg. Hannibal wiggled his toes. The movement caught Face’s attention and he glanced up at Hannibal’s face with a guilty smile.
“I always wanted to do this.” Face shrugged almost apologetically.
Hannibal smiled, hiding his sadness. Over the years, Face had opened up a little about his childhood as an orphan, so Hannibal knew that the younger man hadn’t exactly had a lot of traditional experiences as a kid. That’s why Hannibal was so glad that Face got along so well with Murdock, hanging out with the seemingly unbalanced man let Face cut loose more than he otherwise would. It was almost like his friendship with Murdock helped Face catch up on the childhood that he missed.
“By all means, continue.” Hannibal stated serenely.
Face’s expression lit up. “Seriously?”
“Seriously,” Hannibal laid his head back down. “Just keep my nose free so I can breathe.”
Face scrambled up to kiss Hannibal. “I think that can be arranged.
The young man hadn’t gotten to Hannibal’s arms yet, so Hannibal raised one arm and waved it at Face lazily. “Carry on.”
Hannibal drifted off to sleep again. He woke for a second time some time later to the sound of laughter. Face was no longer by his side, which was a disappointment, but given that he could hear his lover’s voice, one that could soon be rectified.
Face hadn’t buried Hannibal very deeply and it was easy enough to pull his arms free. After that, Hannibal slowly sat up, causing the sand to fall off him. He brushed more off as he reconnoitered the situation. A little ways away, Murdock, Face and BA were building a sand castle. It was a pretty impressive mound, although from what Hannibal could see of the incoming tide, it was also soon doomed for destruction.
Hannibal smiled; Face wasn’t the only one with an unfulfilled childhood desire.
Moving quietly, Hannibal snuck up on his teammates. When he got a few feet away, he made a moaning noise. The other three jumped a satisfying height and turned to look at him.
“As the monster approached Tokyo, there was no stopping him.” Hannibal put action to words, tromping through the sand castle as though it were made of paper.
For a few moments, all three of his boys looked at him with open mouths of shock. While Face was the first to start laughing, it was Murdock who joined in. He stood and started kicking at the towers. “I get to be Mothra.”
Eventually even BA joined in the game, although he kept muttering that they were all fools even as he pounded the castle back into sand. Eventually, the water started lapping at the remnants of their creation and they all realized it was time to go back inside.
“No, we’re not gonna check Netflix for any damn lizard movies,” BA grumbled to Murdock as the two of them slogged towards the house. “There’s a game on tonight.”
“But BA,” Murdock whined. His next words, though, were done an octave lower and gravelly as he did his best Batman impersonation. “I’m Mothra.”
Hannibal grinned at their play, knowing very well that if he were to wander into the TV room in a little while, that Godzilla would indeed be showing.
“Hey, since they’ll be otherwise occupied, you wanna fool around?” Face’s arms came around Hannibal’s waist and the younger man pressed his whole body against Hannibal’s back. “We could try sex on the beach.”
Snorting, Hannibal took Face’s hand and pulled the younger man so that he was in front of him. “I don’t think so. It seems someone decided to bury me and now there’s sand in all sorts of places.” When Face opened his mouth to say something, Hannibal stopped him by placing one finger over his lips. “And what is sand, but quartz and other minerals? Abrasive minerals, I might add.”
Face’s expression fell. “Oh.”
Hannibal stepped up so that they were nose to nose. “So what you’re going to do next, soldier, is take me inside and clean me off. Including checking every nook and cranny I have to make sure that you’ve removed every grain of sand from my person.” He was pleased to see Face’s eyes dilate. “And I mean every grain.”
“Oh.” Face said again and Hannibal grinned smugly. He loved driving his usually glib lover to speechlessness.
Thankfully, Face recovered quickly. He stood straight and snapped off a proper salute. “Sir, yes, sir!” before taking Hannibal by the hand and tugging him impatiently inside.
Yes, there were days were being a fugitive wasn’t bad at all.