Each Freckle is a Kiss From the Sun

“Ahoy up there Dirk!”

“Ahoy yourself,” a voice called back from the top of a very tall building situated in the middle of a bay, far off the coast. The owner of the voice was Dirk Strider, and the person he called to was in the process of winning the world’s slowest rower award.

“Dang it Dirk, why do you have to live so bloody far away,” the rower grumbled to himself. “And only accessible by boat? Sometimes I swear he’s gone off his rocker.” He lifted his eyes back to the building that lifted out of the sea just in time to watch Dirk strip his shirt off and dive straight into the water. “Holy frick frack…DIRK!” That was an awfully long way up… and then it became an awfully long time without him surfacing. “Dirk? Dirk? Oh no…Dirk?” Just as he was about to throw caution to the wind himself and jump overboard he saw some bubbles from the side of the boat. Eagerly he leaned over the side to get a glimpse of what was making the bubbles only to be greeted by a spray of salt water in his face.

“Dirk that was not funny!”

Before he could retort, Dirk noticed the actual panic on his friends face, it was quickly replaced by relief, but for a moment it was there. “Sorry Jake, you were just taking too long, I figured I’d help you row to my place.” And by help row, he meant grab a hold of the docking rope and start the swim towards his house.

“Dirk? How can you swim and pull my boat faster than me rowing?”

There was a chuckle and an answer, “Maybe because you’re a scrawny little twig compared to me?”

“No, I don’t think that’s it, I’m willing to bet your part mermaid or something,” Jake mused as he watched Dirk swim through the water. “Wouldn’t that be something?”

“Yeah, something alright. But last I checked I don’t have any gills or fins so we can’t count that out.” Dirk rolled over so he could watch Jake as he swam, “I think it’s more to do with me growing up in the water than anything else.”

“Figures you have to be logical, no fantasy for me.”

Dirk swam around to the side of the boat, “Did you actually want me to be part fish or something?”

“M-Maybe,” he paused, “Dirk don’t look at me like that, it’d be interesting, that’s all!”

He laughed a second time while he tugged the boat along, “You have some strange kinks English, first blue people now fish people. Will it ever end?”

“Dirk!”

He docked the boat and tied it up next to his own. While Dirk lived to swim, he wasn’t in love with the idea of hauling groceries or clothes across the open water without a boat. He heaved himself up on the dock and helped Jake out of his boat and onto the large ladder that led up to his home. Jake always gave him shit for replicating his old home, but he didn’t really care. The ocean was home to him. Sure there were some bad memories, mostly related to the world being under the direct control of an alien sea monster and also being one of only two surviving humans left on earth, but hey, it was his life and for the most part it was pretty ok.

Jake had in his possession the typical overnight bag, some spare clothes, movies and a tooth brush. “Dirk what are we doing today?”

He shook his hair out; most of it still clung wetly to his face. “Did you bring your swim trunks?”

“You literally just got out of the water Dirk; you can’t possibly want to get back in.”

Dirk shrugged and walked into his kitchen, “I always want to swim, anyways, I bet you’re hungry after rowing all the way over here, as pathetic as your attempts at rowing are,” he teased. “I’ll make lunch. You can set your stuff on my bed.”

Jake set his duffle bag down and leaned in to Dirk, “Oh, but I haven’t said hello properly yet,” he kissed Dirk and pulled away sticking his tongue out, “You taste like salt, yuck,” Dirk laughed at his pouting boyfriend who then promptly went to the bedroom to deposit his things.

When Jake came back he was handed a sandwich and some chips, “Sorry this is the best the chef could whip up in a few minutes.” Jake didn’t complain and took the sandwich while he flopped down on of Dirk’s stupidly large leather sofas. He didn’t even begin to guess at how Dirk afforded half the stuff in his house, or how he got it up there.

“Why do you live in the middle of bum fudge nowhere again?”

“Because it reminds me of home and I feel safer hearing the waves at night, we went through this. Remember?” He adopted a fake accent and imitated Jake, “Haha blimey Dirk that’s kinda lame!”

“Oh,” Jake frowned, “Yeah…”

Dirk sat down next to him and opened a can of orange soda. “Dude it’s totally fine, I know you didn’t mean it, and I also know living out here is a pain in the ass. I’m sorry.”

Jake spluttered, “W-What? No Dirk don’t apologize. Oh man, that’s not what I wanted…I was just giving you some friendly shit, you know?”

“I know, but it doesn’t change the fact that it is still kinda annoying to get people over here. I understand that fact fully and thus you do have a right to complain.”

“I guess it’s still tricky to get to my house too…being that it’s out in the forest…I guess we all went looking for places like home.”

Dirk nodded, “Except for the troll couples, John built that big ass house on the cliff with Karkat, and doesn’t Rose live with the vampire one in downtown?”

“Yeah…I think so. I dunno I don’t talk to them much since the game ended. We don’t really have all that much in common.” Jake slid back into the chair, “I always thought that after we met all of our alternate parents, we’d…I mean wouldn’t it be great if we all became some big happy family?”

“That would have been pretty sweet, but it’s ok, we don’t need a huge family, we have our small family, as long as I got you, Roxy and Jane we’ll be fine.”

Jake grinned a bit, “That’s right; we did just fine before…we’ll do just fine now.” He took a few more bites of his sandwich, “You know,” he grinned mischievously, “by eating now it means you can’t go swimming right away!”

Dirk rested a hand on his face, “Argh…Jake that’s not how…you know what? I’ll let you have that one, what do you want to do?”

He eyed the TV with an eager face.

“Jake.”

The other boy raised an eyebrow.

“Jake seriously no.”

He raised the other one and slowly reached over to his bag.

“That movie is like four hours long.”

Ever so painstakingly slowly he pulled out a worn DVD with a familiar cover.

“Avatar. Goddamn it English. We watch this every time. I thought the point of you coming over was so I get you aroused not blue fictional alien girls.” Dirk complained but knew it was of no use. Jake already had the DVD in the player and the TV to right input. “Ok fine, we’ll watch your silly movie for the umpteenth time.”

It started and Jake fell deathly silent. He only dared speak a few times throughout the film, his eyes trained on the beautiful scenery and actors. The words that formed the sentences he spoke almost seemed well rehearsed, given the large amount of times Dirk had heard them. “I like that his name is Jake,” he said quietly. Next was “Isn’t their world beautiful Dirk?” Of course, Dirk didn’t reply, he didn’t want to interrupt anything. “You know, one day, I had hoped to go on an adventure like that,” he said slowly, while the credits rolled.

Dirk almost replied with ‘But you did go on an adventure, and you did meet amazing aliens,’ but he knew that what had happened to them wasn’t at all like the over romanticized dreams that he had.

“I wish it had been more like in the movies…”

The couch cushions shifted as Dirk stood up and pulled Jake up with him, “Lots of things would be much better if they happened like the movies,” he said sadly. He then forced a grin and led Jake out to one of his balconies. There was a long deck that ran along the outside of his house. It was useful to have in case he needed to do repairs on any side of the building, but it also let him keep things like plants and chairs and average backyard deck stuff. The majority of the deck had a large railing preventing anyone from falling overboard, or some of his furniture from ending up at the bottom of the ocean if a particularly strong gust of wind came his way.

That was frequent, the wind. It seemed to always be present, sometimes it was gentle, other times it was not, and Dirk would briefly fear for his windows and little house. It was reinforced, sure, but nature is a force that is not to be argued with. He led Jake to one of the rails and leaned against it; he watched the endless blue waves roll by and smelled the salty air. Dirk took one large breath, than another, before smiling, “It’s a beautiful day, Jake, we shouldn’t waste it sitting inside watching movies. We have all night for that.”

“What do you fancy we do then Dirk? You don’t exactly live in an area with a lot of accommodations for the bored.”

Dirk frowned, “Yeah,” he said, “I know. But still, look at the sun, Jake; feel the wind, this is way better than the couch.”

The other boy nodded in agreement. Jake had grown up virtually alone in the wilderness, he had an appreciation for nature that rivaled Dirk’s, even if he did prefer to read comics and watch movies for days on end. “Yeah…this world…everything here is amazing. It’s just like being back home, it’s so clean and fresh and safe…” Despite all the possible dangers posed on his island home from the monsters he shared it with, it was safe, and so was this new place. “This is home, and I shouldn’t get all caught up in the un-pleasantries of the past.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that, Jake,” Dirk said quietly. “But we have days for that, and we have moments where we can remember, and we can mourn, but for now…instead of focusing on what could have been, or what you had hoped, let’s focus on the now. We can do anything with our lives now, anything.”

Jake laughed softly beside Dirk, “I wish…I wish I still had my hope powers…”

“Why’s that?” Dirk hadn’t heard Jake speak about his former powers in a long time.

“It’s just…well, John kept his, I know he did, I see him flying to and from town all the time, and Dave has his, or at least he can still feel his. Try asking that bloke for the time, I guarantee he’ll know it. I just feel like the world maybe saw them as better gods…than us. You know?”

Dirk nodded but neglected to say anything, instead he let Jake continue, “You don’t have your heart powers do you?” He shook his head, “And Jane…I don’t know if she has her life stuff, and Roxy hasn’t done anything void-y so I suppose we really weren’t good gods or whatever.”

“I don’t see what this has to do with anything, Jake.”

He stared too at the crashing waves, “Well, sometimes, I miss thinking about what I could do them. I was hope; I could have done so much. But I mostly ended up on my rump while you guys did all the real work.” He lifted his eyes to the clear blue sky; it was punctuated with the occasional cloud. “This world is new, and it’s ours, and I feel like maybe I could have given it something, eternal hope…shucks that just sounds silly now doesn’t it Dirk?”

“Yes. It is silly,” Dirk answers but continued before Jake’s expression could sink too far, “but not for the reasons you’re thinking. So what if we don’t have any powers? We can still embody what we represented in the game. I know Jane’s doing her best in town to spread life and joy, her bakery is always packed with smiling faces. Roxy…have you seen her? She hasn’t let a single thing slide into darkness. She practically glows.” He turned his eyes back to Jake, “And you, you’re right, you are hope. Remember when we first got here and no one knew quite what to do? Remember how Karkat was a mess and John was just barely holding him together. Remember me? I was practically emotionless. Who was it that stood with Rose and got us all to work together once more and start this small city? Who worked with the light to spread hope amongst all of us when we were lost in dark?”

Jake shook his head and denied it, “N-No, Dirk, that wasn’t me…”

“Yes, it was Jake; you helped turn the gears that built this wonderful place we so easily call home. We were a bunch of kids, some of us gods, some of us not, and we were all scared. But with your help we founded something great, and you continue to brighten the days and lives of anyone you pass by.” He moved closer and rested his head in-between Jake’s shoulder blades, “You never stopped being hope, Jake.”

“What about you?”

“What about me?”

“Heart, right? You were heart? Are still all…heart-y?”

Dirk laughed shallowly, “I was a destroyer, Jake, and I think it’s best that I was one god that never ascended here. I had a terrible and terrifying power; it’s not for this peaceful world.”

Jake knew it wasn’t ok to let Dirk think of himself like that, “Dirk,” he wanted to argue, he truly did, but something stopped him. It was mainly the memories of what Dirk could do, he could separate the soul from the body and rip apart hearts, Dirk was right, he was terrifying. “That’s not fair,” Jake faked a pout. “You can’t just make me feel better about myself, then put your own self down like that.”

Dirk laughed and pulled Jake closer against his chest, “I’m ok, Jake. I’m perfectly happy right now, more than perfectly happy. There aren’t words to describe, and if there were, I’m pretty sure they’d still fall short. I don’t need to be a god, or have those terrible powers here. And that thought alone makes me proud of all that we did.”

Quickly Dirk stripped off his shirt, tossed his glasses aside and much to his boyfriend’s shock vaulted over the rail and dove into the water. “D-Dirk!” Jake called from up top, “Stop doing that! It scares the crap right out of me!”

Dirk squinted in bright sunlight, “Come on adventure boy, the water’s fine!”

Jake sighed and went to retrieve his swim wear. Carefully he made his way back down the ladder and met Dirk at the dock. “I don’t know how you can just dive in from up there. You’re nuts, you know that?”

“Sure do,” he laughed and without warning pulled Jake in as well. There was a yelp then a spluttering sound before Jake’s head broke the surface and he frowned at Dirk. “See? Water’s fine.”

“You are so lucky I love you,” he muttered and started swimming to a partially submerged sandbar. Dirk swam laps around him, sometimes disappearing into the deep and resurfacing a few feet away. It was like he was being followed by a large fish.  Jake reached the sandbar first and crawled up onto its hot sand eagerly, his lungs were quite fond of burning after exercise since the game was over. Dirk followed suit, breaking the water’s surface and walking over to Jake.

Dirk was still in the perfect shape, though, Jake couldn’t help but notice. He still practiced with his sword daily as was swam in the ocean every chance he got. His chest and stomach were still as toned as they were during the game, perhaps even more so. As Dirk approached Jake pulled his knees up to hide the bit of fat that had sprung up on his stomach, he was by no means overweight, but the lack of constant exercise and plentiful food made it a bit hard for him to keep his old figure. “Perfect day, right?”

Jake agreed. The sand was soft, the breeze warm, and the water cool. “What are we doing for dinner?”

“Oh! Uh, one second, I’ll be right back.” Dirk took off running down the short shoreline and dove back into the water. Quicker than a torpedo Dirk arrived back at his dock and climbed up the ladder disappearing into his house. He came back out moments later with something clutched in his hand. He dove back in and returned to Jake.

“What’s that?” Jake pointed to the case in Dirk’s hand.

He sat down and opened it, pulling out a collapsible rod and a few lures. “Fishing pole, I figured we could have fish for tonight.”

“Sounds good,” Jake took the rod and tied one of the lures on it. “I suppose you wouldn’t mind if I tried my hand at it?”

“No, no, by all means go for it dude.” Dirk lazily returned to the water and dove down into the deep. There were tons of small fish that hung close to the sandbar, Dirk noticed. Most of them were too small for eating, but a few schools of larger fish swam near to where Jake could throw the line. Dirk back peddled to the surface and told Jake to switch the color to something silver, most of the prey fish in the area were silver today.

Jake watched as Dirk would swim beneath the waves and imitate an attacking predator. It was strange how natural he looked in the water. Humans certainly weren’t supposed to look like the belonged in the ocean; they were clearly built for land, not sea. But Dirk made it look so easy; he figured that this was probably more familiar to him that land. But he didn’t get much of a chance to think on the idea as the rod tip bounced and the line pulled tight on his fishing pole. “Whoa! Dirk I got one!” He quickly jerked the rod tip up and started reeling in. He used to fish a lot on his island, when he had the time to make the long walk to the shore. Jake was quite good at it if he did say so himself.

The two spent the remainder of the day playing in the sun and surf. Sometimes they both swam out into the ocean, just to see how far they could get. Other times they sat on the sandbar and fished, Dirk even took a brief nap. But eventually the sun started to recede back and the moon rose to take its place. Jake was trailing behind Dirk, watching out for predator fish as Dirk swam with the stringer of fish behind him. Most of the time they fished on the dock or on the supports of Dirk’s house, so the rarely had to chance a predator attack.

Dinner was nothing special, the fish they grilled, along with some vegetables that Jake brought from the mainland. Soon they both found themselves back on the deck. Dirk laid a blanket down and they sat close, looking out at the horizon. The sun was nothing more than an angry sliver of red along the ocean.

There were a few lanterns that Dirk kept outside for light on the calm nights. With this light Jake could see that Dirk had a bit of a sunburn, “You dork,” he teased, “you forgot sunscreen didn’t you?”

“Hm?” Dirk felt his shoulders and back of his neck, “I suppose I did.” The skin under his hand was hot to the touch.

“You really shouldn’t, you have such fair skin…I’m actually surprised you’re not the color of a tomato all year.” He laughed.

Dirk shrugged and fell back to look at the stars, “You get used to it, I guess. You’re burnt too you know.”

“Yeah, but I brown, not red.” He laughed and joined Dirk. The closeness was something that Jake loved; he hadn’t had human contact before the game, besides his grandmother, and during the course of the game things were just too hectic to appreciate the company of his friends. But it was moments like this that made it all worth it. The wind blew softly, producing quiet notes to ring out from the wind chimes that hung near the lanterns. In the dim light he noticed Dirk’s usually pale skin was peppered with little brown marks, “Did you get more freckles?”

Dirk chuckled, “Probably, I really spend too much time outside, I can’t help it.”

Jake shifted so that he was on his side facing Dirk; he let his hand trail along Dirk’s arm, lazily winding its way up to his shoulder, then neck, and finally his cheek. “You’re too beautiful, you know that?”

“Even if I’m not blue or a fish?” Dirk joked.

“Yeah,” Jake replied with a touch of mock sadness, “even if you’re not a cool fish person.”

There was an amused glint to Dirk’s orange eyes that Jake would never get tired of seeing. He leaned in and stole a kiss before settling back down to watch the stars. “Hey, you think Karkat made these ones too?”

“Probably, that guy will take credit for anything,” he laughed. “Jane, Jane says that when she was from, the stars could sometimes hardly be seen. She said it was because of light pollution, I can’t imagine a night sky without stars in them.”

“Me either, it’s sad to think about.” Jake propped himself up on an elbow, “I hope that doesn’t happen here…not yet at least. I like how things are now.” He was going to say more, but giggled instead.

“What?” Dirk asked sitting up as well.

“Your face…” He let another laugh escape through his lips, “your nose is super sunburned.”

Dirk blushed faintly in the dark night, “Sh-Shut up, we spent a lot of time outside. It’s natural.”

Jake grinned and brought their lips together one more time. “Maybe,” he said softly, kissing down his neck, “you should,” and then his chest, “forget sunscreen more often.” Dirk looked up at him, puzzled. “I like color on your skin, you look more alive.” He grinned, “That includes blushing.” There was smile that grew wider as the red blush spread to Dirk’s ears.  Jake drew little patterns connecting the freckles that dotted Dirk’s chest and shoulders, while Dirk stared into the eyes of a boy who very much loved him.

“Sorry they don’t glow like your movie, they could be like stars on my skin.” He smiled and reached a hand up to run through Jake’s hair, “I have a bunch too, like little constellations across my body.”

Jake rested his head Dirk’s chest, he treasured Dirk’s scent, one of sea salt clean ocean air. “It’s ok, I’m far too busy being jealous of the sun.”

He felt Dirk laugh under him, “Why?”

“Because, they say that freckles are kisses from the sun.”