Kalli's Journal

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Mud & Water

"Take your clothes off - both of you! You aren't coming into the house like that!"

"But Kris..." Signal protested.

"No buts!" Kris said, holding her hands across the doorway. "Unless you want me to hose you off outside."

"That water is freezing," Signal complained.

"Then strip," Kris ordered. "You too Pulse. I think you have more mud in your hair than Signal does."

"It's his fault," Pulse replied from behind Signal. "And I think Signal has more mud in his hair than I do. Or at least he does now." With that, Pulse ran his hands along his clothing, and once he gathered a sufficient amount of mud, deposited it in Signal's hair.

"Hey, what'd you do that for?" Signal yelled, wheeling around and striking at his brother. Pulse deftly dodged the first punch but not the second. Before Kris could say anything, they were both on the ground trying to get the other one muddier.

Of course, now they weren't only muddy, they were now covered in small rocks, grass, leaves, and even a little sand.

"I'll get the hose! And I bet the water is ice cold!" Kris yelled, turning to go back into the house.

"Kris, no!" Signal bellowed, shoving Pulse aside. "Not that!"

"Stop rolling around in the yard already. It's bad enough you spent the day playing in the mud..."

"We weren't 'playing'. It was a serious battle until Violet here backed himself into a swamp," Pulse said, standing up and attempting to brush himself off. It only smeared the mess worse.

"Me? I was trying to dodge and you sent both of us into the mud!" Signal was almost shaking in anger.

"Does it matter? You both look like you crawled out of a sewer," Kris said, relaxing to lean against the doorframe. "Leave your clothes out here - I'll hose them - and go take a shower."

"Pulse will hog all the hot water. He always does," Signal said, taking off his top and throwing it towards the grass. It landed in a heap with a grotesque thwap.

"Then, Signal, you can shower first," Kris said. She was starting to wish she had grabbed the hose when she had a chance.

"Not a chance," Pulse objected. "He'll use all the hot water just getting the mud out of that unruly hair of his."

At this point, both robots could have sworn smoke was coming from Kris' head. And flames.

"Both of you strip and go take a shower. Together. Use all the damned water you want and get the mud out of others' hair. NOW!" Kris was pointing and shaking and pointing more. There were definitely flames.

Pulse looked at Signal and they both nodded. It was probably safer to comply.

Kris turned and went back inside, slamming the door.

Pulse shrugged as he started stripping. "Race you. Loser has to wash the other one's hair first."

In reply, Pulse got hit in the face with a pair of muddy fingerless gloves.

"Signal!"

"A duel then, to the nude!" Signal said, trying to pull his boots off without touching them. They had to have a good inch of mud caked over every surface of them.

Pulse wasn't having much better luck. The mud had made ever button, lace, and zipper five times harder to undo. Finally, he managed to get his boots off, whipping them just inches over Signal's head.

"Are you trying to kill me?" Signal asked, heaving a boot back.

"I wouldn't have to try," Pulse replied, pulling off his shirt. He was thankful to have not taken his arm blades along; they would have been useless with all the mud.

Both robots paused a second to regard the other. Neither was wearing more than their mud-covered pants. Both grabbed at their flies, each intent on beating the other to the shower.

"Aauuhhgghh!" Signal howled, fumbling. "It's stuck! There's mud and it's stuck!"

"What am I supposed to do?" Asked Pulse, pausing mid zipper.

"Help me!"

Pulse gave his brother a look of complete disbelief. "You expect me to... No way. Just break it."

"I can't. Kris will kill me if I do that," Signal replied, still tugging furiously at his zipper. "There must be mud or something in it. It won't budge."

Sighing, Pulse gave in and walked over to where Signal was fighting with his pants. "Let me see."

Signal let go of the offending metal and let his arms drop to his sides.

"Don't tell anyone about this," Pulse said, quickly checking to make sure they weren't being watched.

"Hmmm," Signal thought out loud as Pulse gently reached towards the problem spot. "Pulse trying to get into my pants... that could be fun."

"Do you want me to even try to get these off of you or not?" Pulse hissed, dropping to his knees. "I can't see well enough to... Ha!"

"What is it?" Signal asked, feeling a little odd standing there while his older brother was on his knees at crotch level, nimble fingers grazing across the metal and fabric.

"You have pine needles jammed in it. I think I can get them free, hold on," Pulse said, hoping Signal didn't notice his hesitance at touching the violet-haired robot in such an intimate location.

"Hurry it up!" Signal said irritably. He could only keep his mind off the other man digging at his zipper for so long. He wondered if Pulse even knew what he was doing.

"Be quiet a moment and let me concentrate," Pulse replied harshly. "And stop moving so much. I'm starting to think you like this."

Signal made a face, not realizing he had been moving, ever so gently, against the hands that attempted to free him.

"Just a little more, Signal. I've almost got..." Pulse dug one last time at an errant pine needle. "There!"

Signal leapt back, pulling his pants and boxers off in one movement and ran naked into the house.

"Damn you, Signal!" Pulse yelled, quickly divesting himself of his pants and giving chase.

Signal practically flew up the stairs and into the bathroom, quickly turning the water on and jumping in. Clumps of mud fell from his hair as he stepped into the hot water.

The bathroom door slammed.

"You'd better not be hogging the water. I'm just as dirty as you are," Pulse said, pulling out towels and washcloths for both of them.

"You still have to wash my hair," Signal announced, peeking out from behind the shower curtain to gaze inadvertently at Pulse's backside. He ducked back into the shower quickly, sending a wave of mud flying against the tile wall.

"Fine. Just don't forget, you have to wash mine too."

Signal quickly turned away to face the front of the tub as Pulse pushed the curtain aside and stepped into the far end of the tub. The black-haired robot neatly hung a pair of washcloths on the bar beside him and made his way behind Signal.

"Turn around."

"What?" Signal yelped as Pulse thrust his hands into the mass of muddy violet hair.

"We need to get the mud out, remember?" Pulse was getting annoyed. Just what was Signal's problem?

"Right..." Signal said slowly.

"I need your hair directly under the water. So turn around already," Pulse demanded. "Unless you want to take care of me first..."

Signal felt like he was turning eight shades of purple.

"I..." he began, quickly losing his ability to speak as Pulse shifted and wrapped his arms around Signal's shoulders and rested his chin on a shoulder.

"Are you alright? You don't have mud in your circuits, do you?" Pulse asked, wondering why Signal hadn't moved from where he was, water hitting midway down his torso.

"I'm fine," Signal said quickly, knocking Pulse away and turning. "Just get it done with. It's not like I want to be in the shower with you." He brushed off his body as though Pulse had left cooties.

"Close your eyes then, and get under the water."

"Do you have to make everything sound dirty?" Signal asked, making a face.

"You're the one thinking that way," Pulse replied, pushing Signal back under the water. Rivers of mud started running down Signal's body a moment later, swirling around his feet and into the drain. Pulse ran a hand up Signal's chest before stepping forward and reaching into the violet hair. "Besides, we are dirty."

Signal closed his eyes, silently begging to be imagining the entire incident.

"How did you get this muddy?"

Eyes flew open. "You're the one who shoved me under the first time. You tell me."

"I did not shove you under. You fell and took me with you," Pulse said. "Now I need to get... back... here..." He shifted closer to Signal, trying to reach a spot buried within the violet hair. "Stop moving!"

"I didn't..." Signal started before getting a mouthful of water. He had been unconsciously backing away from Pulse.

Pulse wrapped an arm around Signal's waist and pulled him forward until their bodies were fully touching. "Stay right here so I can get the mud out."

Signal whimpered. Pulse removed his arm to go back to mud removal, but didn't move his body.

"Just relax. I'm not going to hurt you," Pulse whispered in Signal's ear when he noticed Signal's discomfort. "There's just one more spot that looks really muddy."

A moment later Pulse backed away and rinsed his hands quickly. "Okay, just turn around and bend over..."

"What?!"

"Flip your hair forward so I can make sure I got all the mud underneath. And stop turning everything I say into something perverted," Pulse said, his arms crossed disapprovingly.

Signal sighed and turned, flipping his long hair forward as he leaned over.

"Unless you... want it that way," Pulse said softly, leaning over and sifting through the soft and vaguely muddy hair at the back of Signal's head.