[ACE] Devil's duty

[derek chandler ralston]

Derek looked over his shoulder and smiled as he stepped off the last step. "Sure," He breathed, crouching a bit. He felt so wrong about it, yet so right. Having the boy closer was what he wanted.

[aerin 'ace' colt endsley]

"Yay!" Ace exclaimed, smiling broadly. He wrapped his arms around his neck, his legs wrapped tightly around his waist. "I love piggy back rides." He said, laying his head on his arm to look over at Derek.

[derek chandler ralston]

A laugh escaped his lips. "Do you?" He held Ace's thighs lightly to support his weight as he straightened up, walking towards the trees. As soon as they stepped into them, everything about him relaxed more.

[aerin 'ace' colt endsley]

"Yeah. I had a friend once who used to piggy back me through the woods. We were in a small town in Texas. He was a lot bigger than me. I was there for a couple weeks." He smiled, letting his hands rest on Derek's shoulders.

[derek chandler ralston]

"Oh really? That's cool." Derek shifted him on his back a bit, peering happily through the trees, lips parting instinctively to draw in the scents and tastes of the air as an actual animal might. It felt so right when he was in the woods

[aerin 'ace' colt endsley]

"Yep." Ace said quietly, wrapping his legs a little tighter around him. He laid his head on Derek's shoulder, looking out through the trees. "I always liked the woods best.." He said quietly, slowly running his hand over Derek's arm.

[derek chandler ralston]

Derek licked his lips as Ace's legs tightened, and reached a hand to brush his fingers along the bark if a tree. "Same here.." He murmured, smiling faintly. Eyes flicked around, and he tried to pick up on the direction of the water.

[aerin 'ace' colt endsley]

"We're not like everyone else though.. We belong here." He breathed, finally slipping off of Derek's back so he could run through the woods, jumping over downed limbs and low branches to look for his water.

[derek chandler ralston]

Derek smiled, watching hi go before he followed in pursuit, keeping up easily.
Suddenly his father was there in his head, the memories of running through woods with him when he was a little kid, jumping into his arms and falling into the grass in front of their favorite waterfall.
'Ha. Fool. You destroyed him.'
'Yeah, it's all your fault.'
'You really believed the devil would give you a chance?'
The words twisted and suddenly Hade's was the only vision in his mind, laughing.
He stumbled a bit, brought back to reality, and found his balance sullenly.

[aerin 'ace' colt endsley]

Ace kept running through the woods until he came to a river. It wasn't very big, but it looked really deep. He watched it for a second, making sure it wasn't moving too fast before he pulled off his shirt. He folded it, and put it to the ground. His shoes were the next thing off, then his jeans before he climbed into the river, swimming down to the bottom to sit.

[derek chandler ralston]

Derek slowed to a stop at the water's edge, watchig Ace dive under, a faint smile passing his lips. He pulled his shirt off and set his phone on top of it before sitting down near the edge and peering into the water.

[aerin 'ace' colt endsley]

Ace sat at the bottom for awhile, looking around at the water surrounding him. He finally swam back to the top, taking a deep breath as he broke the surface. He pushed his hair back, looking over at Derek. "Well? Aren't you going to get in with me?"

[derek chandler ralston]

Derek nodded, reaching down to pluck the bandage from Ace's figer and set it aside before he got up. He slipped carefully from his jeans, dropping them next to his other things before turning and diving into the cool water. It was so nice and refreshing, and he tugged on Ace's leg before resurfacing nearby.

[aerin 'ace' colt endsley]

Ace looked at him with a raised eyebrow as he pulled off the bandage, but the water was quickly running up his arm to get to it once it was gone. He watched Derek, smiling as his leg was pulled. "I am son of Poseidon, mister! One does not tug my leg in the water." He said, slowly sinking down until he was up to his eyes.

[derek chandler ralston]

Derek laughed, trying to contain it to a snicker, and swam back a little so he could lift a foot and splash water at Ace. He stuck his tongue out. "Nobody ever said I was a good dog. I'll do what I want," He wined playfully.