Adventures in a land down under (Closed)

Miguel had been wondering what the bracelet would do but as he lifted the formerly heavy individual he found him now much lighter. Even as heavy as someone of his height and build should weigh. ”Yeah,, you can do that,” He stated with a nod and a small smile, watching the guy run around the room like someone who had been told they won the lottery or like they could go to the chocolate factory. Now he wanted chocolate. The frolicking ended when he leapt onto the bed, sending ripples through it but not causing him to crash through the floor and through the possibly shattered bed.

The hug that followed did show that he wasn’t weaker by much, mostly by how his back popped and he was pretty sure the kid could snap him in half if he got a little too excited. ”Alright alright, try not to hug me too tight.” Miguel said with a mildly strained chuckle, giving the guy a one armed hug ands pulling back once the hug was broken. Not that he minded being hugged, because there was something about physical contact that pleased him.  Granted that was not an unexpected considering what people knew about him.

”So let’s take this thing for a ride and see if we can get’cha swimming.” Miguel stated, thinking on what he could do as far as something to swim in, considering people likely would have been annoyed by him either wearing only his underwear or his own clothes. Since those weren’t meant to be swam in normally. Would leave him uncomfortably wet. ”not really much for martial arts tournaments anyway, since i’m pretty sure there’s no one who could fight me evenly anyway.” Miguel shrugged, fully aware the kind of skill that he possessed. ”though I could probably try wrestling a shark, even if that would probably be boring anyway.” Regardless if Marshall agreed to the beach thing, he would lead them  out to the beach after making a quick stop for some trunks.

Marshall gave the large man a smile, thinking about submerging himself in cool water after so many years and how wonderful it would be. He sat up from the bed and swiveled around to face the large Latino before slowly wriggling off the side. It felt really good not to have to be so careful literally throwing his weight around. The slender framed gentleman slowly stood up and smiled as he eyed Miguel from head to toe, giving a quick thought before he grabbed his hand gently and began to lead him outside.

"Come on.... I know there is a shop just downstairs where you can pick out something. They have regular togs, shorts, wet suits, and even speedos if you wish to be a little more..... free."

As they made their way downstairs, Marshall never released Miguel's hand. The lobby of the hotel was busy, and there were plenty of beautiful people there to enjoy the sites and beach. Tourists and locals alike, creating a sea of faces and perfectly sculpted bodies. Compared to them, and Miguel, Marshall was slim and petite.... like a senior student. Marshall was smiley and happy though, glad to be their with Miguel, back in his home.

Everyone looked at them, their faces passing judgement on the supposed couple, at least what they looked like. Some girls would grin and giggle, others would shake their head in disapproval, and they even got a pleasant and somewhat insinuating nod from a couple gentleman. Marshall was a little embarrassed, but all that mattered was that he was with Miguel.... kind of his only real friend.

They finally approached the shop as he stopped them and turned to Miguel, craning his neck to look up to him. "They have plenty of swimwear choices here, any style you can think of. Go on, pick something.... I can't wait to go swimming with you. I'd love to dive off the pier with you."

Miguel followed along, led by the hand as they moved down and through the lobby while people occasionally gave them looks. He could read them, some annoying and others very amusing. Maybe some people saw something strange about a tall and muscular Latino man walking around with some guy who looked barely around the age of eighteen, likely scrawny enough to get snapped in half with a wrong gesture. Whatever they were implying he didn’t care, he was just trying to enjoy himself on a nice day to the beach and whatever else came with that. The two of them stepped up to the entrance of a small store, Miguel giving it a look over with vague curiosity.

”Well yeah, can’t wait either.” He said, letting go of the mans hand and stepping into the store to look through the somewhat generous selection of swimwear until he caught sight of something that interested him. They were simple shorts, though the kind to cover up without really leaving too much to the imagination. Rising up around his mid thigh, likely tight enough for his own liking.  Something that fit for a showboat like himself. Passing through the front exit after paying for them, he allowed the article of clothing to dangle in front of Marshall with a faint smirk on his lips.

”What you think? My kinda style right?” He said before putting it back in the bag, pushing his arm through the hole and hooking the other arm around the males, seeming to be the one to drag him around. ”let’s get this moving then. I’m starting to get a little excited myself. ’

Marshall smiled, watching as the large man looked through the modest selection the store had. He was practically bouncing as he waited for him to select his shorts, obviously happy with the selection he had made. He gave him a nod of approval, accompanied with another smile before feeling the large man's arm loop around his. He really was getting excited.

"No worries, the beach isn't going anywhere. We're on vacation.... something I was really looking forward to." He began to lead them back out and across the small road to the beach immediately adjacent to the shop. The air smelled of the ocean accompanied by a warm breeze, perfect swimming weather. As the pavement turned to sand, the changing bungalows came into view, allowing them to change into their trunks. Marshall went first, swiftly changing into his favourite blue shorts he could finally break into with real sea water. As he came out, he did an awkward spin as if showing off, before stepping aside for him. "Your turn Miguel, don't take too long."

The scent of the ocean was quick to reach his nostrils, bringing with it the memories of his childhood. Beach trips with his mother, the person he called his true mother. Even thinking about it was enough to make him smile. This wasn’t the worst idea to have, going with the second youngest looking member of the Blackguard to Australia for a reason he likely didn’t pay too much attention to.  He let the guy change first, coming out looking quite fetching in the likely more modest trunks he picked out. Modesty was something that really fit what he knew of the guy, though Miguel was never one to care for modesty. If the beach were a nude one he would have been just as fine with it too.

He eyed the male with an appreciative smirk, nodding a couple times. ”I like it. Really looks good on you,” He complimented, before taking his turn to change. Tearing off any tags from the trunks and changing into them from his clothes and into the tight fitting shorts. They really hugged all the right places, though he hoped it didn’t show off anything too obscene. It did show off all of his tats now that he was lacking a shirt, most of them appearing to be Nordic runes but all of them a language no normal person could speak. Some of them even from before his time with the Vikings, in a language they didn’t recognize. All they could tell him was that they had some kind of strange magic within them. Nothing that he could use.

He did a more graceful spin and flexed for the demi-titan, smiling widely. ”What do you think? Looks good on me right? A little tight in some areas but I think that’s the point,” He shrugged, holding his clothes now in the plastic bag and resting an arm on Marshall’s shoulder. ”oh well, now we’re two good looking guys on the beach right?  Wonder what kind of animals they got in the ocean, not that I expect a jellyfish will really bother me.”

Marshall blushed darkly when he complimented him, looking away shyly before stepping out of the way to allow the somewhat taller male into the changing tent. When Miguel emerged in his tight shorts, Marshall's blush grew darker. This was the most skin he had seen of his teammate since seeing him change into the godly super figure. Marshall liked it, perhaps more than he originally thought he would. His hazel eyes took in not only his phenomenal figure, but also the various tattoos that painted his skin.

The young man let him drape an arm around his shoulder, ignoring what he had said about the animals or whatever as he focused on the tattoos. His hand instinctively reached up and began to stroke the firm but soft skin where the tattoo swirled. "Wow.... w-what do these mean, Miguel?" Before long, his entire palm was pressed to Miguel's abdomen, his eyes still focusing on the tattoos as if somewhat entranced by them.

Standing next to him, their stature differed greatly, making Marshall seem so petite. He didn't mind though, just finding it nice to be back home, with another to spend quality time with. As Marshall focused on his ink, a pair of men, burly and cocky as they were, pushed by Miguel with an aggressive tone. As one man's shoulder roughly pushed up against Miguel's, they would hear the men chuckle arrogantly before speaking the word Marshall hated the most.

"Ha, fucking queers...."

Miguel was used to being looked at for one reason or another, though he did enjoy when people paid attention to his ink. His body might have required a little work, but being less than human made keeping fit quite easy. ”A lot of things but I was told they have magic in them. So I guess…spells of some kind or something like that,” If they allowed him to cast spells, well he didn’t know at that time. Miguel did like the idea of being able to cast magic but he wouldn’t have been too hurt if he was unable to do the casting. He looked down to the palm tracing along his abdomen, feeling the tingle of flesh brushing along his own though he didn’t really say anything about it. Might have chased the young looking guy off.

He could have been enjoying his time but some asshole wanted to make things awkward. Mostly by brushing their shoulder against his own, which might have been fine if he weren’t so rough and didn’t proceed to calm them queers. Fucking queers to be specific.  He was fine with that, because he had quite the thick skin but he had the feeling that would hurt Marhsall’s feelings. That was enough to make his own annoyance flare up. ”gimme a sec there Marsh, then you can keep feelin me up if you want,” he smiled at the younger looking male, gently grabbing his wrist and moving it away before turning towards the jackass.

”I’m sorry, you’ll have to repeat that. I don’t think I caught that you limp dicked fuck. What exactly are we?” His amber eyes took on a glowing gold hue, hands bunched into tight fists as he  approached them.

Marshall's eyes diverted when the rude male called them.... well what they did. He felt both embarrassed and frustrated, as he couldn't understand why the man would call them that.... even if it were true, they didn't do anything wrong. They were heroes. His eyes moved back to his as he pushed his hand away and stepped towards the men, three of them to be exact. The young man wasn't sure what was going to happen, but he didn't want a full on fight on the beach. He sat back and watched for a moment, seeing the three guys turn to Miguel when confronted.

"I said. Fucking. Queers. This is a decent beach, we don't need you cock fairies around here fucking things up."

This was all he said as he poked his finger into Miguel's chest. Miguel was fairly large, but admittedly so were the 3 guys. They clearly were muscle heads with nothing else to do but work out, flex on the beach, and degrade woman. Marshall was getting nervous as beach goers began to look, waiting for the inevitable fist fight that was to follow. He couldn't tell if Miguel was losing control or not, because he knew that he could kill these guys without so much as breaking a sweat. Before anything progressed further, Marshall gently grabbed Miguel's hand and gave a very gentle tug.

"H-Hey.... come on Miguel.... these guys aren't worth it...."

He looked so timid and shy next to the god, and unfortunately the guys took the opportunity to insult his petite frame.

"Not worth it!? Look who's talking, scrawny little twink. How does this queer fucker not break you open, fucking filth. How about you make sure we don't break you and this little fucks arms, and just fuck off like the twink says."

Miguel looked down to the finger poked into his chest, and then back up to the man who had done the poking.  Anger like fire rose within him, threatening to explode in an inferno that would likely lead him to something he would regret. These guys had no idea what they were getting into, though he could educate them quicker than they would have liked. ”Decent beach? Doesn’t look very decent with bastards like you walking around here,” Miguel spat back with heavy venom, people around them waiting for a fight though Marshall had been trying to hold him back. Likely he knew what he could do if he even let a little of his anger get out of his control. He might have even given up on things, until they made made jabs and threats at Marshall. The young guy would likely be able to break their limbs with a casual flick but that didn’t matter.

He reassuringly rubbed his thumb along the back of the males hand before letting it go. ”Fine, I’ll walk away but first I need this guy to learn a lesson.” He grapsed the one closest to him by the scruff of the shirt and wrenched them forward suddenly, slamming their nose into his forehead with a sickening crunch. The sound of a nose breaking, pushing them back as he turned away from the sight of the blood spewing from their nose. He couldn’t afford to let the sight of blood overwhelm him. He ground his teeth, trying to undo the anger which coursed through his blood like acid and fire.

”Now fuck off before I break you. I don’t really have the patience for homophobic pieces of shit like you, ” He growled, against taking Marshall’s hand, trying to use the physical contact to ground himself. ”otherwise I might have to split you assholes open,”

Marshall winced at the sound of the crunching noise that came from the guys now mangled face. He stumbled back and cried out in pain as the blood saturated the upper neck of his shirt, the man desperately grasping and holding his nose as if it would ease the pain. Curling up, he whimpered and tended to his nose while his back up crew reluctantly got ready for a fight. The tall one seemed to deal with their buddy effortlessly, but they also assumed it was because they were already face to face and Miguel took advantage of the situation.

Marshall held Miguel for the time, able to feel the fire raging inside of him, probably from these assholes being assholes. He did his best to comfort him, more focused on him even though the crowd was already enjoying the show. The two other thugs were closing in though, intent to beat Miguel for hurting their friend. Should have figured dropping one of them wouldn't solve the issue, this was supposed to be a fun outing for them. Even at this point Marshall was getting frustrated, mainly because these guys were being mean for the sake of being mean. He just dealt with some crazy alien god, he doesn't need this nonsense either.

"Hey, are you all right. Keep calm Miguel, they are just jerks.... I'll deal with the other two"

He reassures him before slipping his bracelet off and handing it to him to hold onto. The young man then turns to the remaining two thugs and bites the inside of his lip softly. He was upset at these guys behaviour, but it didn't make him an angry guy. He takes a step forward and looks to he men, who are feeling much more confident as the smaller of the two gentlemen was about to confront them. "Hey, listen.... we just want to have some fun at the beach, so if you can just....." His sentence was interrupted when one of the thugs attempted to silence him by throwing a full weight punch into his face.

There was yet another sickening crunch as the thug not only broke his hand, but actually fractured his forearm as well with the force of the punch. It was as if he had punched a solid steel wall, not even causing the young man to flinch with his minuscule amount of strength, comparatively. The thug also dropped down, now holding his arm where his hand was barely hanging off of his mangled forearm. He also cried out in pain, not realizing that the two of them were heroes, though that shouldn't have mattered anyway. Marshall looked to the other guy, shrugging while his face was still empathetic and concerned.

"I'm sorry.... I was trying to talk with him.... he didn't need to punch me. Maybe you should take your friends to the hospital, they're hurt pretty bad. This was all that had to be said at this point, realizing his mistake as he tried his best to scoop up his injured friends before all of them retreated, the crowd clapping for some reason. Marshall was confused, but again only focused on Miguel as he returned to him, taking back the bracelet and slipping it back into his wrist. "Hey, how are you doing? Are you feeling all right?"

Miguel could hear the man hit the ground and whimper in a pathetic fashion, something  in a way that managed to bring about some pleasure in seeing the sight. A darker section of him took pleasure in the sound of pain and broken bone. He knew they would need it reset to not look crooked, though a crooked nose would have fit a crooked person quite well.  They did ruin his day, so he wanted to ruin more than that for them. It was only fair in his opinion, considering he was used to people apparently having a problem with him when he went after a guy. Apparently, it made him look less manly or something along those lines. He would have hrt them personally, but Marshall was the one who stepped forward after removing the bracelet.

His eyes widened in surprise, watching one of them try to strike him and in turn only hurt himself. Bone crunching and breaking as they hit the equivalent of a steel wall, watching the man fall too but with far more damage done to him. For a moment he felt pity, followed by a desire to hurt him more. It felt like a malevolent fist had gripped his chest and began squeezing his heart, a wave of pain rippling through his chest. The loss of control felt closer and closer, enough that he had to step away before he took this too far and did something he would actually regret. The sound of a voice caught his attention, jaw growing taught as he reigned back the violent reaction.

”N…no I don’t think I am,” He managed, chuckling softly as if to try and break the tension. ”I’ll be fine though. I just need a few seconds, that’s all.” He extended a hand, looking away almost ashamed, and sighed. ”wanna swim now? I think I really need that.”

Marshall smiled adorably and chuckled at his comment. He could tell he was struggling with himself, but knew that he just needed to relax and have a dip in the ocean. The young man would maintain contact with him, trying to bring him out of his fit before they would move on. It hurt Marshall to see him like this, especially it being related to those guys being jerks. He got to see how Miguel cared about him, even though he knows those guys wouldn't have been able to hurt him regardless. It made Marshall feel special.

"Heh, yeah.... that sounds perfect. Despite those big jerks, I have been able to enjoy the ocean breeze the whole time, makes me want to jump off the pier."

Once he was sure Miguel was feeling better, he grasped his hands and started pulling him towards the shore. Despite what just happened, and the beach goers still in awe, Marshall had gone back to being an innocent playful guy back home and enjoying the beach air. His feet were washed over by the tide as it swept up on the coast, bringing with it some drifting seaweed and a crab that hadn't burrowed quite in time. Without thinking, he got excited and grabbed it up to look at it closely.

"Hey look, a crab!" He rushes it to Miguel to see it, showing him the underside and the claws. "Careful, it has some pretty strong claws, it pinched me when I picked it up."

Miguel was quite easy to lead along, eyes looking to the ocean which lapped up at the beach shore in the distance and moved in a way that created a calming rhythm. ”If you wanna jump off the pier, go ahead. Just wear the bracelet while you do it,” He stated, wanting the guy to actually enjoy himself. He didn’t think of the fact that someone who hadn’t swam before would be unable to swim, it didn’t even cross his mind. ”be careful about the sharks, though I guess they won’t be an issue. Something tells me they can’t hurt either of us anyway,” He tried to imagine the concept of a shark biting him and how much it would hurt. Would it even hurt? In the end all it would do was let him punch them in the face, which sound fun.

The two of them walked across the sandy beach, Miguel feeling the crunch beneath his feet and then the cool ocean waters washing across his feet, dragging with it the grains that had stuck to his feet. A crab was the first thing Marshall pointed out, bringing it close and warning him about the spooky claws. He couldn’t help laughing at the concept, already lightening up. ”oh come on, I’m sure it didn’t hurt that bad, ” He reached to pick up the crav, little claws clamping around his index, though he barely felt it.

”Ow, it hurts soooo bad,” He teased with a smirk,  gently settling the crab down and letting it scuttle away. ”never seen a crab before? I usually don’t pick them up myself, though I do eat a few. They taste pretty good with a butter sauce,” probably unkind but he liked his seafood. Turning back to the ocean, he smirked turning to Marshall and grabbing him by the waist, casually tossing him deeper into the water and jumping afterwards. The splash was large, enough to draw the attention of a few beach goers though he didn’t care. Rising up in the water which reach around his chest and smirking at where he assumed Marshall was.

”Thought we should go a little deeper. See if you actually like the ocean,” He smirked playfully, shaking his hair out which was now saturated with sea water.

Marshall chuckled softly, enjoying Miguel's joke as the crab pinches him. He watched as it scurried away before feeling Miguel casually lift and toss him further into the water. The feeling of being lifted and tossed was something he hadn't felt in a very long time. He laughed as he felt the cool ocean water hit his bare skin, feeling chilly at first but quickly getting used to it. Once the goosebumps subsided, he began to dip in and feel the waves wash over his back and neck, just barely keeping his head above water. His hazel eyes focused on the large Latin man he was accompanied by, giving a soft blush as he looked at him differently now.

Marshall couldn't explain it, but he suddenly felt different between the two of them. Perhaps it was just the water chilling his spine, but he enjoyed looking at Miguel.... especially his tattoos. He lifted from the water and smiled before splashing him wildly. He seemed to shift from shy and timid, to sweet and playful, and back again in the moment. He splashed him again, and then again, hoping to cheer up Miguel from what happened earlier.

"Come on Miguel, the water is fine! It's really chilly though, good thing the sun is out!"

He laughed before he felt a row of sharp teeth viciously snag onto his leg. The teeth didn't break the skin, but Marshall could still feel it and yelped out in pain from the many rows of teeth. He was so scared that he had froze up, not kicking because he didn't want to hurt the shark. He splashed and wiggled slightly, the shark desperately trying to rip up his leg to no avail. It actually let go, but bit a couple more times still trying to eat its prey. Since Marshall was wearing his bracelet, the shark was actually capable of pulling Marshall underwater with it while viciously pulling at his leg.

Wading waist deep alongside the younger looking male was nice, something he had been looking forward to ever since he came with him to Australia. That was what people came to this living nexus of murderous nature for, right? Something about spending time with him was nice despite them meeting not too long ago in a meeting and getting attack by people in New York. ”Feels pretty great to me. Been a while since I had a nice beach day, too much training I guess,”  he gave a few splashes at Marshall, just enjoying the waves lapping at up at stomach and chest. It was pleasant really, something he would have to do more of when he returned to LA.

All could have been going well but that was when he noted Marshall going rigid, and slowly moving away. The cause of it wasn’t too obvious, not until he noted the fin bobbing up and down within the water. With a sigh he wrapped an arm around the kids waist, and gave a hard jerk which pulled him away from the shark along with some of the teeth ripping loose from its gums. ”Fuck off you goddamn shark,” His leg sliced through the water resistance and slammed into the shark chin. It broke through the waters surface and seemed to sail a good few dozen meters further into the ocean with an audible splash.  

He smiled to Marshall and sighed. ”We just cannot catch a break right? First assholes and then sharks, guess the fates don’t want us enjoying ourselves. ” He didn’t particularly notice he didn’t remove the grip that pulled the guy close to his side, looking to where he had punted the shark and hoping they were the species that tried to fight on.  Well, maybe he hit the thing so hard it was now dying, which would have been amusing. ”how about we get some shaved ice or whatever? Feel like a shark trying to eat you up might ruin the mood a little. ” He shrugged,  feeling like this was just not his day, though he was pretty fine with spending it with Marshall. Made it easier to forget the stuff that pissed him off.

He didn't even use the opportunity to watch the shark fly away from the sheer strength of Miguel's kick. He simply curled up against him and shivered lightly from both the cool water and the breeze hitting his still glistening skin. Taking a moment, he finally relaxed before looking up at him and smiling to his joke. He let a chuckle escape his lips at the joke, but felt as if their trip was truly cursed. They had been at the beach for no more than half an hour, and he already wanted to go home. His attitude changed when he mentioned shaved ice, which sounded absolutely amazing.

"Shaved ice, yes!!!"

This was all he shouted as he leapt from his arms and began to lead them to the shore with a bit of gusto. His hand held onto Miguel's gently, seeming much more conscious of his sufficient strength, and being careful not to harm Miguel. To the bystanders, Marshall would appear as a petite guy who is barely able to throw a football properly, but how would they know he was a demi-titan? The water slowly washed up on the beach as his feet was warmed by the sudden change from moist to warm sand. This is where he spun around to make sure Miguel was still keeping up, and that he wasn't pulling too hard on his hand.

"Are you coming? Slow-poke!" He teased him playfully, sticking his tongue out before spinning around and making his way towards the shaved ice cart that was at the edge of the sand and concrete. He was like a big child now, seeming as if the shark and jerks had never happened. He clearly got over grief and stress quickly, or perhaps it was because of his company. All Marshall knew was that he was happy, very happy. "Hello, could I get..... um.... strawberry kiwis flavour please? What will you have Miguel!?" He turned to see if Miguel had caught up with him, since he had raced ahead to get to the ice first, overly excited about it.