Who: Adrian & Kane Where: Castle View, car, out in the woods When: Afternoon Monday 7/2 Warning: mild groping, boyish horseplay Status: complete, Part 1
It was a little weird to go to Kane's house in the middle of the day without the cover of darkness protecting him and Adrian felt like everyone was watching him as he walked across the parking lot, trying to look casual. Kane wasn't the only person he was visiting today so he didn't think it should be such a big deal if someone saw him there, but there was that nagging feeling that it was somehow written on his forehead how horny he was for this guy. It didn't really make sense if he thought about it, Kane was as straight passing as they came and he'd just visited Toby who was like a rainbow in human form, and yet this was more stressful.
For all anyone knew he was just there to meet up with the guy who'd saved his sister, making new friends, being buddies with someone and he tried to somehow exude that aura to whoever might be watching him - which was probably nobody. He felt at least a little less visible to the world by the time he reached Kane's apartment door and knocked, slipping his hands in his pockets and trying to smother the stupid excitement he felt at the thought of being alone with him again.
Maybe it was greedy to want to see both of his lovers on the same day, but Kane had never claimed not to be greedy. It was happening and he was pretty excited about it, especially now that the one he’d been worried about had turned out fine. Red was okay and she still had the freedom to live her life how she wanted, which included continuing this hot little affair. For now. Things could change in a blink, Kane knew that, but it was fun while it was still lasting.
He’d gotten inspired as he lounged around his apartment waiting for Adrian, and by the time he heard Adrian’s knuckles on the door, Kane had a backpack loaded with some goodies. Kane opened the door with a pleased little grin, his heart doing that fun jump-twist thing at the sight of him. “Hey,” he drawled, not making room for Adrian to come in yet. Instead Kane quirked a brow at him. “You can swim, right?”
Adrian had been more than ready to slip right inside so having Kane blocking the doorway felt a little weird and might have been concerning if not for that look on his face. "Yeah, why? Your apartment flooded?" he asked with a curious smirk and it was stupid how his body reacted to Kane, the way he just wanted to instantly touch him, squeeze him and taste him. He'd never been this attracted to someone on such a physical level, it was almost disorienting and the way Kane was grinning at him made his stomach riot.
Kane was dying to grab him and kiss him, but he knew how well that would go over on this side of the door. He could be patient. Sometimes. “Naw,” he answered, tilting his head back a bit as he looked at Adrian like he was sizing him up. Kane leaned back into the apartment and snagged the bag up off the floor before he stepped outside, crowding Adrian back a bit. It really took willpower not to put hands on him, but Kane managed to resist. “C’mon, come with me,” he said as he locked the door. Kane could hear how that might sound ominous, so he flashed Adrian another smile before he started for the parking lot.
Adrian didn't have much choice but to back up, his brows rising with his curiosity even as a rush of arousal went through him at the way Kane moved toward him. "Okay," he said slowly when Kane started moving away again, narrowing his eyes this time before he followed. It did sound ominous - even with that smile - but he decided against asking questions and just enjoyed the view as he walked behind Kane, keeping enough space between them to really look at him. The way Kane moved never failed to get to him and it always reminded him of predators which, well, Kane kind of was. Adrian wasn't so sure he'd be as turned on by it if he wasn't one as well but it was hard to imagine not being affected by this man either way. "So we're going swimming," he murmured as they reached the parking lot and that feeling of everyone watching somehow wasn't as invasive now that he wasn't alone.
“I know a place,” Kane told him, his tone casual. “You’ll like it.” He didn’t know that for sure, maybe Adrian wasn’t too into the great outdoors, but it was a beautiful spot and the weather was nice but not hot enough that a bunch of people might be there already. He wasn’t the only one still around who knew about this swimming hole, but on a day like this he was pretty sure they’d have the privacy they wanted. Kane knew it might have been nicer to warn Adrian and tell him to bring some swim trunks or something, but it had been a last minute sort of idea and it was better as a surprise. Plus, swimming was always the best with no clothes on at all. “It better still be there, anyway,” he muttered as he approached and unlocked his SUV. Kane tossed the bag into the backseat and climbed in behind the wheel.
"And if it's not?" Adrian murmured once they were both inside the car and he was pulling his seatbelt on. He grinned, not expecting an answer to that rhetorical question, it was just to pester Kane a little. It felt a little weird not to have touched him at all despite being in his presence for a few minutes already but he held back on the urge to reach over, feeling entirely too visible to the world for that display of affection. Instead he busied himself with Kane's radio as they headed out of the parking lot, soaking in the good feelings of simply being in Kane's car. It was a beautiful day and Kane looked hot as ever, it was these little pleasures he was clinging to whenever he had the chance to enjoy them.
It would be pretty crazy for a whole swimming hole with its own little waterfall to disappear, but Kane knew crazy shit happened all the time. He didn’t have a plan B, but at least it was a nice day for a walk in the woods. He rolled the window down and lit a cigarette before he pulled them out of the apartment complex and onto the main road. He reached over first, settling his hand on Adrian’s thigh. It felt like the most natural thing in the world. “So how’s everything?” he asked, glancing over. “Sister feeling better?” He drove them toward the north side of town, away from Witcham, not eager to stroll around in those woods. There were quieter parts of the forest, places they could be alone and feel safe enough.
It did feel like the most natural thing in the world to Adrian too, just a little nerve wracking as well. He still enjoyed the weight of Kane's hand on his thigh, instantly thinking about where else he'd like that hand and hoping wherever they were going was private. "Mila's good, she's on bed rest for now," he replied and felt no need whatsoever to go into the details of the things they had to worry about there. Things were going to be okay and he refused to let himself go down the road of the negative what ifs. "So we just gotta make sure she's actually resting, that might get tricky if she gets bored." He wasn't really worried about it, Mila wasn't hyperactive or anything and she wasn't stupid enough to do something that might risk her baby. It was the little things that could sneak up on a person, like wanting to do things herself because they felt easy when she shouldn't be doing anything at all. "She's agreed to not go anywhere alone again, that'll probably drive her crazy before long."
“Pfft, can’t say I blame her, I hate bein’ laid up,” Kane chuckled with a shake of his head. “And I can get drunk, she ain’t even s’posed to have coffee.” He didn’t know much about pregnancy, thankfully he’d never knocked anybody up that he knew about, but he’d heard enough women bitch about food restrictions. He was glad that there wasn’t anything majorly wrong with Adrian’s sister, in mostly a selfish way. Kane wanted as much of his attention as they could squeeze in, time was precious when you were a dirty secret. He took his hand back momentarily to hold the wheel while he took a drag on his cigarette, squinting ahead at the road. “You tell her you met me?” he asked, trying to only sound mildly curious. He only halfway managed.
Adrian gave him a sidelong glance and smirked, able to pick up on that curiosity. "Yeah, I told her you came back to finish changing the tire. You're now somewhat of a Moretti saint." He didn't know if anything would come of it, but Mila had said she wanted to remember Kane's name. Given that Adrian was absolutely going to 'become friends' with him, there wasn't much risk of her forgetting. There was no traffic where they were at now and Adrian looked around to make sure of that before he leaned over to steal the cigarette from between Kane's lips, watching him intently as he took a deep drag of it. "If I was a nice guy I'd let you off the hook with the favor for saving my sister," he murmured. "But I'm not." He liked having that favor hanging over Kane but these days it was more of a joke than anything, at this point he wouldn't ask anything crazy of him and despite everything, he kind of was a nice guy.
He didn’t interfere with the theft of his cigarette, pursing his lips a bit against a smirk. “You don’t gotta tell me that, I already know you’re an asshole,” Kane drawled, glancing between Adrian’s face and the road. He was so close now, Kane could smell him, and it made his crotch tingle. He lifted his hand to pat Adrian’s cheek. “You’ll think of a good one one of these days,” he teased, grinning a bit. He honestly didn’t mind owing Adrian a favor, even a big one. Kane felt like he deserved it for what Kane had done to him, whatever the circumstances. He took his smoke back and tucked it between his lips again for a drag.
Adrian grinned at being called an asshole. Weird how an insult could hit so right. It was the way Kane said it, he really could have said anything in that tone of voice and Adrian would be lapping it up. "I will," he promised. "Gonna keep you guessing until then." He liked the way Kane's lips wrapped around that cigarette and there was something deeply hot about the way he exhaled the smoke. It reminded Adrian of those retro pictures where smoking was glorified and sexy and as a nurse, he should know better but nurses really were the worst when it came to medical hypocrisy. He stared at Kane's lips for a moment, then licked his own and forced himself to look back at the road. They were heading to the outskirts of town, that much was clear. Nowhere near Witcham though, definitely a good thing. "So you're gonna show me some place I've never even heard of before?" he asked. "I thought I was pretty much in the know about most places around here."
Kane had the feeling that Adrian was guessing too, that he didn’t actually have any idea what he wanted. That made it more fun, somehow. “I dunno, maybe you’ve heard of it,” he answered. He was pretty sure that Adrian was quite a bit younger than him, so their high school years hadn’t overlapped at all. “Only seemed like a few of us knew about it back in school, me and some of my buddies, their girlfriends. We only saw other people there once or twice. Not many kids around here go wandering around in the woods, but one of my friends claimed his older brother found it while he was out exploring.” He was sure other people knew or had known about it over the years, but it had felt really secluded to them back then. “It ain’t a long hike, you just gotta know where to go. You trust me?” he asked, glancing over again with a smirk.
Adrian paused before answering, giving Kane a somewhat incredulous look before laughing. The answer should be no but fuck, he did trust him and that was crazy. "Yeah, take me somewhere hidden away," he murmured and it wasn't like Kane hadn't already done that. At least he had Adrian's consent this time and he was absolutely curious to see whatever place it was Kane had in mind. Most people didn't go wandering in these woods, Kane was right about that and there was a good reason for that - but between the two of them, Adrian wasn't worried about going out there. Maybe he should be, he was human and vulnerable at the moment, but the creature inside of him tended to pop out when he needed it the most, at least after the ritual, so that kept him from worrying too much.
They were being light and bantery at the moment, so maybe it was bullshit, but being trusted made Kane’s chest feel full and warm. He probably didn’t deserve it, but it felt good to have anyway. The ride itself wasn’t very long, and soon enough Kane was pulling over on the shoulder of the road at the right spot. It wasn’t marked by anything in particular, but the trees hadn’t changed, and Kane remembered where the trail started. “It’s on foot from here,” he declared as he popped his door open. Kane grabbed the pack from the back and locked the car up once Adrian was out. He led the way into the treeline, glancing around them as the air turned a little cooler. Now that they were there, he was feeling the prickle of nerves -- what if it wasn’t as nice a spot as he remembered? Or Adrian just didn’t enjoy it? It felt weird to be about to share a part of his early life with someone, especially from a time that had been tough to get through.
Adrian would have been delighted to know Kane was nervous, not out of any sadistic tendencies but knowing he wasn't the only one fretting about something would be nice. He felt a little calmer now that they were out here because there was very clearly nobody else around, no cars, no voices in the distance and he wasn't lying when he said he trusted Kane. They were well past the paranoia and distrust by now and even if Adrian knew it was a twisted situation, his feelings were anything but. On some level he always felt like he should feel bad out there among the trees, but he'd spent a lot of time in the woods in the last few years and it was nice to be there now. It smelled good, felt raw and untouched and private and he liked the way the branches crunched under his feet as he followed Kane.
Kane didn’t try to force conversation as they walked, focusing on making sure they went the right way. This may have been a quieter part of the forest, but that didn’t mean it was completely harmless. As their path started to take them downhill, Kane began to hear the rush of the water up ahead and he got more excited, picking up the pace a bit. Some parts of his childhood didn’t feel real anymore, like they were just stories he’d heard about someone else, but this had been real, along with all the good memories he had in this place. The little trail curved to the right down a ridge, and suddenly they were there, and it was just as gorgeous as Kane remembered. In front of them was a deep green pool fed by clear water rushing over rocks across the way on the opposite bank, creating a decent little waterfall, all of it ringed by big flat rocks and boulders. Trees lined the ridges above and in front of them, creating a private little oasis. It all smelled fresh and clean and sweetly nostalgic. Kane looked over at Adrian to gauge his reaction, his heart thudding hard in his chest, then pulled him in for the kiss they hadn’t had yet.
It wasn't a place Adrian was familiar with which was pretty surprising given that his friends had been prone to going everywhere and anywhere they could during their very bored high school years and it was by far more beautiful than anything he'd been expecting. He took it in and had barely just started smiling when Kane was pulling him in for a very willing kiss. He'd been holding back on this for too long so he happily wrapped his arms around Kane and pushed in against him, moved that he'd take him here and happy he'd gone along with it. "Still here," he murmured against his lips a moment later and he wondered how long it had been since Kane was last here. People tended to ruin things, someone could have built something here, ruined the flow of the river, privatized the land, but it was all still here and he could easily imagine a younger Kane coming here with his peers. Hell, Adrian would have too, if he'd known about the place.
Adrian’s body felt so damn good pressed against his in a way that had very little to do with sex. Kane kept a firm grip on him while they kissed. He had a lot of good memories here, some of which included the first tentative explorations into his bisexuality, and it was kind of surreal to be there again with a guy he was having so many feelings for now, like maybe he was dreaming it, his brain mixing up the past and the present. But Adrian felt solid and real and Kane knew he was wide awake. He smiled a bit into the kiss. “Thank fuck, or this woulda been embarrassing,” he murmured back, and titered. Kane kissed him firmly one more time, nipping playfully at that full bottom lip before he pulled back. He took Adrian’s hand to lead him to a big flat rock closer to the water that made a good little base camp. Kane dropped the backpack and peeled his shirt off, then sat down to get his boots off.
"Yeah, I'd have gotten some heavy duty second hand embarrassment," Adrian murmured as he indulged in just watching Kane strip for a few seconds. He looked damn good, those scars on his back were healing nicely and his posture while taking off his boots did something to Adrian, making it hard to look away. "I'm guessing we're skinny dipping, huh?" he murmured when he finally shrugged off his jacket, doubtful that Kane had swimming trunks that fit him in that bag of his. That was okay, this place felt private enough and Adrian had never really been shy about his body. Now if someone saw them making out, that was a different story for very different reasons but he wasn't shy and they were obviously getting in the water.
Kane had been totally desensitized to being nude around other people thanks to the military and all the locker rooms he’d been in throughout his life. He wasn’t concerned at all about anybody showing up and seeing them. Adrian’s question made him grin up at him as he pulled his socks off. “Best way to do it,” he answered cheerfully. Kane hopped up and undid the front of his jeans, his eyes still on Adrian. It was always fun to watch him undress. He was going a lot slower, but now that he was here Kane was truly excited to glide through that crisp water. He already couldn’t wait to come back when it was hotter out and the sun was high. “You ever done it before?” he asked as he pushed his jeans and boxers down.
"Yup," Adrian murmured with a grin and he didn't need to ask if Kane had since he obviously had and probably in this very spot. He wanted to own a photograph of this moment, of Kane naked in nature with that sweet smirk on his face. The best he could do was imprint it on his brain and he tried to do just that as he pulled his t-shirt off and kicked off his sneakers. "Can't believe I didn't know about this place, I can hear my teenage self bitching at me for it." Not that he could have brought lovers out here but it would have been fun to splash around with friends anyway. "How many hotties did you bring out here when you were in high school?" he asked teasingly as he unbuttoned his jeans.
If Adrian already had experience with it then Kane didn’t need to tell him how good it felt, not just on the skin. Skinny dipping had always felt really freeing to him. Kane got his feet free and nudged all of his clothes into one pile, chuckling at the question. “This town’s full’a secrets, everybody can’t know everything,” he drawled. “And I dunno, guess I lost track.” Kane winked at Adrian and adjusted his balls before he stretched his arms a bit and rolled his neck. There had been several hotties of both persuasions, but Kane honestly couldn’t remember an exact number. He’d been pretty promiscuous in high school. Adrian probably didn’t really want to know anyway. Kane was dying to jump in, but he wanted to watch Adrian get naked even more, so he lingered right there.
It was pretty obvious why he was lingering and Adrian ate it up though he didn't try to draw out the 'show'. "That water's not gonna be warm," he said with a grin but he didn't mind. He'd swam in the ocean, it had been cold but he'd gotten used to it pretty fast and this wouldn't be any different. More fun, if anything. It was easy to picture teenage Kane here with a whole lot of lovers but it didn't really bother him, a different time and a different man and all that. Kane was here with him now and Adrian felt pretty damn good about that. He finished stripping down and walked over to the water's edge, glancing back at Kane with a smile. "You gonna jump with me? Or just stand there and watch?" It felt good feeling the breeze on those parts of his body that so rarely got to be naked outside of the privacy of a house and he stretched his arms just like Kane had for the same benefit.
Damn, he was a fine ass man. Kane made no effort to hide that he was ogling Adrian, and he took his time walking up from behind him. “Don’t worry, I’ll warm you up real good,” he murmured with a grin, giving Adrian’s ass a light smack. He counted them down and after a couple of gleeful seconds of being airborne, there was the sublime crash into the water. It was deep enough for diving off of some of the higher boulders, and Kane enjoyed that deep-sinking feeling while it lasted. It was definitely cold, but in a way that made him feel more alive. It had been way too long since Kane had gone swimming anywhere, and it felt so damn good to be back in waters that kind of felt like home. He kicked to get to the surface, letting out a ‘hoo!’ and a laugh as his head came up.
It had been a while since Adrian felt such a rush without being hopped up on supernatural powers and he laughed when he surfaced, rubbing water out of his eyes and fumbling around for Kane. This had been a good idea and the water already felt nice after those first few seconds of shock. Hearing Kane laugh was therapeutic in a way he couldn't define and he grasped his wet arm and pulled him closer with a grin. It had been a while since he went skinny dipping too and it certainly hit differently with a guy he was attracted to, multiplying that excitement inside of him and making the laughter come easier. "This was a good idea," he said before pulling Kane in close enough for a kiss before shoving him away playfully. "Guess you're capable of those sometimes, huh?"
Adrian’s hand felt hot compared to the cold water, and Kane relished the sensation of being pulled and pushed around by someone. The kiss was almost as teasing as Adrian’s jab, and he laughed again and splashed water at him. “Once in a blue moon I’m a genius, yeah,” Kane agreed, amused. It was a good idea, maybe a great one, and he was pleased that he hadn’t talked himself out of it. Some people didn’t like the great outdoors or swimming in natural water, so it had been a slight risk, but Adrian wasn’t that kind of prissy bitch. Kane found that stupidly attractive, like so many other things about him. He ducked under the water and advanced on Adrian to grab hold of his waist and pull him down to dunk him.
Adrian came back up sputtering and laughing and primed for revenge so when Kane came back up for air, he pushed him back down under, moving around him to cling to his back when he resurfaced. It had been a long time since he had friends who could be assholes in a fun way, rough-housing with him and picking on him, and god had he missed it. This came with the added treat of sexual tension so he couldn't be happier about it. He wrapped his arms around Kane's shoulders, tittering in his ear. He felt a bit rusty when it came to swimming and it did feel a little harder to stay afloat than he remembered but all in all it was like riding a bicycle and he playfully thudded his head against Kane's before pushing him away again and paddling backwards.
It felt like it had been forever since Kane had this kind of fun himself, rough and fun-mean and masculine, and he was loving every second of it. Adrian’s weight on his back was nothing short of delicious, and that soft laughter sent a happy shiver through him. His head dipped underwater again when Adrian pushed away, and Kane moved his arms to do a little forward flip just to feel that thrill in his stomach. He shook his head when he surfaced again to fling some water off, rotating until he spotted Adrian again. Kane flashed a grin before he pursued, quick-stroking until he could grab Adrian and yank him in close again to playfully wrestle with. One might think that coming twice earlier that day would have chilled his libido out, but feeling Adrian’s wet body push and squirm against his was turning him on in a way that was mixed with a bright joy he didn’t get to feel too often. Snickering almost too much to get a good breath, Kane ducked under the surface again to swim a few feet away and surface again. His toes scraped rock, and he found a good spot to plant his feet for a minute, swiping water off his face.
Adrian was happily out of breath after the wrestling, grinning at Kane from where he had found a nice way to float, idly waving his arms in the water and swimming in place. "You give up?" he asked and then pushed forward to move closer to Kane, torn between tackling him again or just wrapping himself around him and kissing him until neither of them could breathe. He felt so alive in such a human and fun way at the moment, he didn't want to let that feeling go and he kind of wanted to come back here even if he hadn't even left yet. "That means I win, you know," he teased before dipping under the water and diving toward Kane, wrapping his arms around his thighs.
Kane’s mouth was opening for a retort, but then Adrian was underwater and bowling into him, so he just barked some laughter and tried to keep his footing against Adrian’s momentum. He slipped and both of them went under for a moment, Kane grappling with him until they were breaking the surface again face to face. He was breathing hard, his muscles singing with all the activity, but that didn’t stop Kane from crushing their wet lips together. He put his feet down again and locked his arms around Adrian’s shoulders, kissing him deep and hungry for a moment before he pulled his head back enough to catch his breath and grin. “Pretty sure I’m the winner here,” he murmured, meaning much more than just the wrestling they were doing. Adrian was a fucking prize if there ever was one.
"And I'm pretty sure you're wrong," Adrian laughed even if he kind of caught on to the meaning. Sappy idiot. It made him feel all warm inside and he pressed in closer against Kane and pressed a little kiss to his lips. "Thanks for bringing me here," he murmured and he didn't have a great footing where they were currently standing but that was okay, Kane was solid and strong and he had a good enough footing for both of them so Adrian was more than happy to just cling to him and kiss him some more. "I haven't gone swimming properly in years." And now that he had done it again, he wanted to keep doing it and not let another batch of years go by until the next time.
Kane didn’t mind keeping them both upright, sliding his hands down to cup the bottom of Adrian’s ass for support. And other reasons. The thanks gave him stomach flutters because it sounded so real and meant more to him than he expected. When he’d had the idea, he’d only been thinking about something fun and private they could do, but now that they were here, it felt more significant than that. Or maybe he was just a sappy idiot. “It’s good exercise, you need it,” he teased to distract from the sappiness, pinching lightly at Adrian’s buttcheeks. There was hardly any body fat on him, so it was a ridiculous insult, but that didn’t matter. Kane nudged his nose against Adrian’s and kissed him again, lingering in it for a moment.
"That's the second time you call me fat," Adrian mumbled against his lips with a snicker and it wasn't entirely true but it sounded funnier that way. "I'm pretty sure there are rules about that." As if Kane followed rules in any part of his life. Adrian was pretty sure he didn't. "You're lucky I'm not a girl, I'd have flayed you alive by now," he added in a quiet murmur before kissing Kane again, this time winding his legs around his hips and pulling himself in close. Moving in water was just amazing, he couldn't do this effortlessly on land, that was for sure.
Kane was hyper aware of where Adrian’s cock pressed against him, the skin tingly and alert. He chuckled faintly through his nose as he returned the kiss, parting his lips to taste Adrian deeper. His hands ran over Adrian’s lower half under the water, gliding over thighs and hips and ass and back again. Kane wondered idly if he would be feeling this way if Adrian was a woman. He had warm feelings for Brianna and they had good chemistry, but it never felt like this. He’d never actually felt In Love with a woman, Kane didn’t know if he could, even if she was a clone of Adrian. He didn’t care to think through any of it at the moment, he was too engrossed in the lover he actually had.
Adrian hadn't been sure he could relax completely out here without fretting about someone showing up, but he'd all but forgotten there were other people in the world, too engrossed in Kane and the fun they were having. He happily kissed him back, reveling in the way Kane touched him all over and the way it felt to press his cock against his abdomen and touch him back. "You know I'm fucking crazy about you," he murmured into the kiss after a while and on some level it felt like too much to admit but it wasn't like he could fight the feeling. Kane had crashed into his life, turned it upside down and then turned it up right side up again but better? It didn't make much sense, none of this did, but Adrian didn't want to imagine a reality where none of this had happened.
His stomach gave a happy twist and Kane smiled reflexively. He guessed he did know that, it wasn’t exactly subtle, but hearing it was something else. “I know you’re fuckin’ crazy,” he murmured back, nudging their foreheads together. God, all of this was coming on so fast and intense, but it felt too fucking good for him to want to even try to pump the brakes. They both knew just how short life was, better than most, so why the fuck not let it be what it was, right? “And so am I, ‘cause this is just ...” he huffed a bit. “I’m falling hard for you.” It did feel kind of terrifying to admit out loud, but Adrian had done it first, so Kane owed him the truth. Maybe they were as stupid as Bailey thought they were, but that didn’t make it any less real and intense.
"Good," Adrian murmured with more confidence than he was actually feeling and he was kind of pleased with how nonchalant he was coming off considering how Kane's words made him feel. He'd never had that requited thing before, not like this. Mutual fun and attraction was a completely different thing altogether but whatever this was between him and Kane was thick and heavy and all-consuming. Of course he kind of knew already, he knew Kane had been obsessed with him at least, to the point of stalking him. It all should be terrifying but it just made him stupidly happy. "I'm falling hard for you too," he murmured though it should have been in the past tense, he was long past falling, he was absolutely deep in it now.
Even though neither of them were adding the ‘in love’ part to the confessions of falling, Kane heard it in his heart and it called up an intense rush of emotions in his chest. He’d been living this lone wolf life for so goddamn long, and while he’d connected with people here and there, it hadn’t been deep enough to call love since AJ, which felt like a lifetime ago. Kane had no idea yet what these mutual feelings would mean for him and Adrian, but fuck, it was a rush get confirmation that they were indeed mutual. Part of him struggled to believe it, he’d lived with the idea that he was unlovable for years -- not to mention how all of this between them had started out so dark and violent. Hell, maybe Adrian was fucking crazy, but Kane didn’t care. He stared into Adrian’s eyes as his gears turned wildly, none of it coherent enough to come out of his mouth. Talking could be so stupid anyway, so Kane just kissed him again, hard and full of feeling, his arms moving to squeeze Adrian tight against him.
Adrian was pretty sure they were both crazy and that they needed to be crazy to survive all the weird shit they'd both been through. If he had to be crazy to do this with Kane, then he'd embrace that insanity with open arms because there was nowhere else he'd rather be. He was kind of glad Kane didn't try to say more, words felt dumb and that kiss did more to solidify what he was feeling than ever words could, especially after the way Kane looked at him. He was so different from the way Adrian had first seen him, like a light had lit up inside of him, softening something up in his features. Hell, he had dimples when he smiled and Adrian wasn't so sure he could ever really take his grim hunter look as seriously again. He was still scary, of course. Just not to Adrian. It helped that Adrian had some tricks up his sleeve to tackle the scary but even without it, he didn't feel vulnerable and afraid around Kane. He just felt... adored. He cupped Kane's face as they kissed, touching him almost reverently for a few moments, as if he could add to that light in him, tell him just how stupid he was for him with touch alone, but soon enough he let his hands wander down to his neck and back, lightly brushing over the large scars. It was time to take those stitches out, some logical part of his brain whispered to him but that could wait and it was easy to ignore.
Like most people, Kane contained multitudes. He just hadn’t accessed this part of himself in years and years, and it was like Adrian had come in and flicked some lights on in his soul. There was more to it than magnetic attraction and explosive chemistry, too. Kane didn’t think he’d ever felt this seen and understood by anyone else in his life, ever. He’d been in love with his poor AJ, but AJ had been fully human, clueless about the terrible duty Kane had been saddled with. Adrian knew him, even if there were still details to fill in. They both had their own darkness and even though they hadn’t played well together at first, their shadow selves seemed to fit together perfectly now. That was how Kane felt anyway, and he hoped that Adrian felt the same. For one, it was a beautiful feeling that he deserved to have, and for two ... Kane was as scared shitless of this as he was exhilarated by it. He wanted Adrian to stay, to try this with him, to really want him back. The way Adrian touched his face made his throat feel thick, and he let out a little sound into the kiss, his fingers pressed firmly into his back.
Adrian was feeling all the same feelings and they all seemed to feed into each other and blur at the edges. He was afraid of so many things, thrilled about so many things, grateful and afraid again, hopeful and pessimistic at the same time. Kane was like a rock, something for him to cling to in more than just this water and being with him felt like the only time he was really truthful in his life. There were so many secrets, so many ugly truths he could never share with his family and Kane knew all of them now. He might not know the names of the men Adrian had killed, but he knew he did it. He knew what Adrian was, what he could become, he embraced his darkness as well as his humanity and he'd stood fast, unafraid as he gave Adrian absolute trust in the face of impending death. It was hard to doubt any of this with all that had happened between them but doubt was still nagging at Adrian sometimes when he was alone. Not now though, and that was another reason he loved being with Kane. All the doubt went away when he was with him, like he could feel his intentions with every fibre of his being. Maybe it was just pheromones making him stupid, but he vastly preferred that over the worry he had when he was away from him.
The only thing Kane doubted when they were together was himself. He didn’t know how any of this was going to go for them, how it would look, what they could actually give each other besides this deep understanding and stolen private moments. In this whirlwind beginning, that felt like enough, but would it always, for either of them? Would Adrian want a normalcy that Kane couldn’t give him? Some picket-fence life that he felt incapable of living? Adrian had come out of an actually stable, loving home, and Kane had no experience with any of that. How could he create something he’d never seen? It was all too much to worry about, but part of his mind was tripping itself trying to hurt him before this situation could. Like if he saw every bad thing coming, it would sting less. It hadn’t ever worked before, but his insecurities kept trying anyway. Kane tried to push it all back and stay firmly in this moment where his heart was racing with excitement and he felt appreciated and wanted and loved. He rubbed at Adrian’s back while their mouths caressed each other, all of him warm despite the cold water. It was all so beautiful, it would’ve felt like a dream if his brain was quieter. Finally he butted their foreheads together and licked his lips. “This ain’t the favor, either,” he murmured.
"No it's not," Adrian said with a little grin, pulling back to look at Kane's face and reaching up again to stroke his jaw. "This is much better than any favor." He wished he could shut his mind up too but these thoughts kept drifting through and reminding him where he was, who he was with and what that meant. Most of it was good, but there was also the knowledge that he cared now and caring meant worrying. Kane did a lot of really scary things and Adrian wasn't ready to lose him. He'd been a hunter for a long time, a reaper too, none of that was going to change just because he met Adrian and he wasn't at more risk now than he had been before. But what if this made him soft? What if his time came soon? These were at least fears that made sense and Adrian had plenty of fears that weren't as serious, even felt kind of stupid in the grand scheme of things. He wished he could be in this moment and not worry about what might be coming because this moment was fucking perfect.
Kane let out a sound that was some weird mix of a laugh and a growl, his hands slipping down to squeeze Adrian’s ass tight. He just gave Kane so many feelings, it was almost a physical frustration. He wanted to squeeze him and bite him and dunk him again, all at once. Kane kissed him again instead, a few deep and nibbly ones, then pulled back and pushed at Adrian’s hips to get him to let go. His body was getting antsy to move again, like it needed to work off some of the emotional energy it didn’t know what to do with. “Come on, I gotta climb somethin’,” he muttered with a grin. “You ain’t scared of heights, are you?” There were plenty of good rocks to climb and jump off of around them, and Kane felt like crashing into the water a few more times to ground himself.
"Nope," Adrian laughed as he pulled away and swam backwards away from Kane. Jumping off something sounded like fun and he wouldn't mind the view either when Kane climbed out of the water. His lips tingled where Kane had been kissing and nibbling on them and he sucked his bottom lip into his mouth, a pleasant turmoil in his stomach as he thought about kissing him some more. He wanted to swim too though, swim and jump and maybe tackle Kane again. It felt so damn good, all of it, the making out and the roughhousing. It was safe to say he was happy today and that was another thing to worry about - his family noticing just how weirdly happy he was. "So when are you getting me my money?" he asked with a feigned attitude, splashing water at Kane. "Are you scared I'll move in right next door?"
He snickered and splashed back in Adrian’s direction. “Soon soon, damn, gangster,” he laughed. “I ain’t scared of you, I’ll move you right into my fuckin’ bedroom.” Kane grinned and swam away, headed for a spot he could haul himself out of the water. It wasn’t a serious threat, of course, but the idea of Adrian moving into the same apartment complex was beyond appealing. It would make things so much easier and give them more time, especially if Adrian was going to stay in the closet. Maybe Kane shouldn’t want him so close so fast, but he honestly didn’t give a shit what people would say they were supposed to be doing. This was what they wanted. Kane climbed out of the water and shook his arms off a bit. The air felt good and the sun was out for the moment, and Kane stretched, aware of his audience, before he started making his way toward one of the bigger boulders to climb it.
Adrian was a captured audience, loving the way the water glistened on Kane's skin and his mysterious tattoos. He swam backwards away from him, giving him enough space to jump because Adrian was going to watch first and enjoy the damn view. The thought of moving in with Kane was insane but it appealed to him in that silly daydream way that was never going to come true but still sounded pretty sweet. Maybe it was naive of him to think that they could wake up together more often if they lived closer to each other, it'd be easier to make up lies as to why he wasn't in his own apartment because he was technically still in his house. They could meet in the little gym sometimes, maybe swim in the pool and yeah, it was all a very dumb fantasy in Adrian's mind but he was allowed those, damn it. It was just nice to hope for good things again, he'd spent so long feeling like he had no future and that death was the only way out. Now he actually had things to live for, people he loved being with. More importantly, he had his autonomy back to really enjoy everything, no longer struggling against a supernatural hunger and some organization that meant him harm. "I'm gonna have to go to Portland and look at some beds," he said jovially and it felt like his smile was just stuck on his face now. "You wanna come with me?" It seemed only fair that Kane try out the bed too, if things went as planned he'd be spending some time in it in the future.
He’d never lived with a lover, except a few rare passing-through-town couch-surfing situations, which was a totally different thing. Kane didn’t know if he would like it or hate it or if it would be just like living in the barracks with more privacy. It wouldn’t be the smartest thing to do, of course, Adrian needed his own place for his family’s sake and to be independent and all that, so Kane would happily settle for him being in a nearby building or down the hall or however it would end up. He glanced over as he made it to the top of his boulder and sauntered up to the edge facing the water. “Fuck yeah, I’ll go,” Kane answered. “When? You gonna stay the night? You should have some company, Portland can be a dangerous city.” He grinned down at him. Not waiting for an answer, Kane took a couple of running steps and dove off of the boulder, slicing into the water hands-first. He lingered under the surface for a moment, enjoying the cool weightlessness, then kicked against the water and came up, swiping a hand over his face.
Adrian just laughed and then enjoyed the view of Kane jumping, looking away to save himself all the splashing to his face. "I should bring a bodyguard," he agreed as he swam leisurely to the same spot where Kane had climbed out. "You do pro bono, right?" He'd suggested Kane come with him to Portland sometime before and the thought of it was pretty amazing. A whole night and day of doing whatever the fuck they wanted? Buying a bed wasn't exactly a fun activity but that wouldn't matter if Kane was there with him. It'd be interesting to go out and do 'normal' things with him for a change, he might just get to know a whole new side of him. Maybe he was the most obnoxious and impatient shopper ever, Adrian wouldn't know unless he went with him. He glanced back, almost as if to make sure Kane was watching him, thirsty for that attention and the kind of adoration he'd only ever felt from Kane.
“You can just pay me in blowjobs,” Kane retorted with a grin, paddling out of the landing zone. It sounded like a dream to him too, the total freedom of being completely unknown somewhere. They could even have a date. Dinner out at a real restaurant, being obviously together. Kane could touch him in public. It was a weirdly exciting prospect. He found a good spot to hang out and leaned back more in the water, lazily treading and watching Adrian’s every move. They were in a magically gorgeous part of the woods, but he put every detail of it to shame, there was nothing else Kane cared to look at. Watching his muscles work under his skin as he climbed out of the water made Kane’s stomach feel warm and he sucked his bottom lip into his mouth.
Adrian wasn't afraid of heights, but there was still something about willingly throwing himself off a cliff that made his stomach fill up with butterflies of the more nervous kind. It wasn't a long fall by any means but it was still a fall and he was kind of glad Kane was bantering with him as he climbed up there. "You'd do it for me without the blowjobs," he said cockily. "You're a sucker, you'll do anything for me." He stopped at the edge and looked down, watching Kane there in the water. He had been joking but some part of him knew it was true, this man in the water would do pretty much anything for him and the idea was wild. Playing bodyguard in Portland was just a small thing, he knew there were far bigger things Kane would do. It was a dizzying fact and he felt entirely too full of something for a moment when he realized it wasn't a one way thing either.
Kane laughed and lifted a middle finger to Adrian as he got to the ledge. He couldn’t exactly deny that, could he? He’d already been wanting to do all kinds of things for Adrian -- worship every inch of his body, protect him with his life, buy a real bedframe for when he came over, submit to his wendigo self, kill anything that threatened him with his bare hands and teeth ... It certainly had been a wild ride so far. “Sucker, huh? You’re not slick enough to play me, come down here and say that to my face,” he taunted, grinning up at him. Luckily that wasn’t a fear in his head, he believed Adrian was completely sincere about all of this. They’d been through too much and none of it ever rang false to him.
Adrian just gave him a big grin before he jumped, savoring that rush of air for the all too brief a time it lasted before he hit the water. It all felt amazing and he already wanted to jump again but he swam over to Kane instead, surfacing just a couple of feet from him. "Don't worry, I'm a sucker for you too," he said with a little laugh as he wiped water from his eyes. "And I think your bodyguarding services are worth at least one blowjob." He still couldn't stop smiling, it was insane how good he felt and he moved closer to Kane, reaching for him and then playfully pushing at his cheek instead. "You're a sucker too though, I'll say that right to your face."
Even the face push felt fantastic and Kane tittered and pushed at Adrian’s arm before he lunged at him in a dunk-tackle. He was such a fun type of dickhead, it felt so perfect to Kane. He didn’t think he would feel the same way about someone who wanted to love him too softly, to handle him with kid gloves and never give him shit. For one that sounded boring, for two completely intolerable. No, Kane needed a rougher kind of love, and this was really starting to feel like just that. He wrestled with Adrian in the water for a few moments, then pulled back with a breathless laugh and moved into floating on his back. “We’ll negotiate on the blowjobs,” he said, still grinning like a fool himself. “If you start acting up and causing trouble I might be entitled to hazard pay.”
Adrian ran his fingers through his hair and swam away again, still laughing. Kane probably needed hazard pay all the time. Adrian was a ticking time bomb or something, but at least Kane could handle that. "You're in no position to negotiate," he teased as he moved to climb out of the water again. "Just take what you can get and be happy." He shot him a bright smile over his shoulder before climbing back up on the little cliff again, this time taking a moment to admire the view all around them since he'd quelled his nerves for jumping. "If you wanna stay the night in Portland, you know you're gonna have to get us a room, right?" With anyone else this might bother him endlessly, not being able to shell out money for things and having to rely on Kane to take care of it, but it just hit differently with him. It didn't feel condescending, maybe because some part of Adrian felt like Kane still owed him something and he was pretty sure Kane felt the same.
Kane laughed a bit and swam to the edge to haul himself out too. “Yeah, yeah, I’ll be your sugar daddy in Portland, you don’t have to beg,” he teased, grinning up at Adrian. The idea of paying for anything and everything for Adrian didn’t bother Kane in the slightest. It wasn’t like he didn’t have the money to spare, and he knew just how rough Adrian’s past had been. Of course he didn’t have anything, he still wasn’t even back to life on paper yet. “When you wanna go? Maybe I can do the drop while we’re there, get your money for you.” Instead of following Adrian up to the little cliff, Kane headed for a different boulder with a lower ledge. He waited for Adrian to do his jump and get clear, then he flung himself off into a front flip into the water, his stomach fluttering happily before he surfaced again.
"Oh look at you, mister fancy," Adrian cooed mockingly but he was impressed and it showed in the way he looked at Kane as he swam closer to him again, slowly circling him. "Let's go soon then? I've got work tomorrow and Wednesday, the rest of the week is still a bit of a mystery." Maybe Kane hadn't even meant going that soon but Adrian wanted to, even if he might not go bed shopping quite yet. He still didn't have a place and he couldn't get a place until he got the money so it made sense to him to get the money as soon as possible. "What about you? You gonna be partying it up on July 4th? Or are you gonna take advantage of all the drunk people who're gonna need a ride?"
Kane just grinned at the first part, treading water and rotating to keep his eyes on Adrian while he circled him like a sexy shark. He raised his brows with a bit of surprise -- it was almost the Fourth, wasn’t it? Things like that tended to get away from Kane, the reality of a calendar and a schedule getting lost in the weird way he lived his life. Part of him kind of dreaded that it was coming up -- he almost always got called out to reap on holidays, especially the heavy drinking ones. It would be a good night to be a rideshare driver, but that was always risky for Kane. Having to pull over to have a mini-seizure with a fare in the car was always awkward. “Eh, I dunno. Not really the patriotic type,” Kane answered with a small smile. “Might just lay low at home. Gonna be a busy night for you at the hospital? Maybe we should go to Portland like ... Thursday or Friday night?”
"Friday sounds good," Adrian replied, relieved that Kane was game to go that soon. He was starting to get antsy and he wanted to get things moving one way or another. Maybe it had been a mistake to tell Aaron he had insurance money coming in but he really didn't believe Kane would fuck him over at this point. "I'm working the emergency tent at the festivals on Wednesday, so yeah, that'll be busy." He paused, smirked and moved closer to Kane, draping his arms over his shoulders. "You know you don't have to get injured to see me anymore, right?" he murmured, already picturing Kane coming in with some dumb injury because that was apparently how they rolled. It'd be even harder to keep things on the down-low this time so he really hoped he would just stay at home and veg out.
Friday felt kind of far away now that he had something to look forward to, but Kane knew it would come fast enough. And it didn’t mean he couldn’t see Adrian until then, they could sneak in a visit or two before they got to dash off and have some real privacy. He grunted a bit at Adrian’s work plans and slipped his arms around his waist, gazing up at him with a little smirk. “So you’re sayin’ I can just waltz in and kiss you hello?” he asked, already knowing the answer to that one. Maybe he could drop by as a friend to check in, but he didn’t really do that with anybody. Kane didn’t exactly have friends around, and he didn’t spontaneously bother Bailey, though maybe he ought to.
Adrian just laughed and shook his head though some part of him wondered what that was like. Sure, he'd had that happen to him, but not with someone he was this into and it really hadn't happened since high school. His girlfriend had been more like a close friend, which suited him far more than she knew and he'd liked kissing her just fine. It wasn't the same though and he could too easily imagine Kane being affectionate with him in front of other people in some version of this world where it wouldn't give Adrian a panic attack. "You don't seem like the type anyway," he teased him because it seemed like such a 'boyfriend' thing to do, but then again so did this, the way they were holding onto each other. It was the closest to a relationship Adrian had ever had and it scared him to think about it because on a logical level he knew that didn't work. Kane wasn't like that, maybe Adrian wasn't like that anymore either, him being in the closet certainly didn't help.
Kane almost asked him what type he seemed like then, but he wasn’t sure he actually wanted the answer. He could guess well enough, and he couldn’t say Adrian was even wrong about it. He hadn’t been a boyfriend in almost two decades, and that had been under pretty unique circumstances, so he was totally inexperienced with doing it any normal way. Did he even want it a normal way? Yes and no, Kane didn’t know. All he knew so far was that he wanted Adrian, in any capacity he could have him. Dirty secret, open boyfriend, what the fuck ever Adrian gave him, Kane would take it. “Nah, I seem like your type though,” he murmured with a faint grin. He didn’t know if that was actually true, but it was getting much easier to see that Adrian was very into him too, that this wasn’t just him being stupid and reading into things. He bobbed them a bit in the water, content just to hold on and be close.
Adrian couldn't deny it, he might not go for guys like Kane but Kane himself was very much his type. Hell if there were other guys like him out there, Adrian would be surprised. He seemed pretty damn unique in so many ways. "You realize we're a fucking cliché, right?" he murmured though he didn't sound put out about it. "The hunter and the monster hooking up?" Kane might argue that Adrian wasn't really a monster but that didn't change the facts. Maybe Kane was a monster too in a way, at least Adrian didn't feel quite so monstrous when he was with him. Their fake meetcute story was by far nicer than the real one too, but Adrian still liked the truth better, as fucked up as it was. "Literal cliché anyway, I doubt this happens a lot in real life." He liked this too, just hanging onto Kane, idly tracing his skin with his fingers as they treaded water.
If they’d met the way they were now lying about meeting, Kane didn’t think this would have become what it was. The intense insanity of the beginning had made it impossible to ignore. “Hey man, clichés are clichés for a reason,” he chuckled. “We’re like ... part of the collective unconscious or some shit.” It made for a good story, though he was sure Adrian’s family wouldn’t agree, just like Bailey didn’t. It would make a good story for strangers, at least. Kane almost pointed out that they weren’t just hooking up, not anymore, but he held back on it. Adrian knew. Kane nuzzled in closer to kiss and nibble at his neck. “‘Sides, you ain’t no monster,” he muttered.
Adrian didn't really feel like arguing the point because that meant bringing up things that didn't belong here in this happy scenario, things he didn't want to think about. "Fine, not a monster," he tittered, content with leaving it at that and just enjoy what Kane was doing. And technically his monster side was sleeping right now, chained up like that wolf in the old nordic stories, maybe waiting to be leashed at the end of the world. It made him think of Westin and how terrible things might still happen but that just gave him even more reason to enjoy what he had while he had it. What mattered right now was that he wasn't a threat to anyone, all his deadly urges had been put to bed and now he knew that when they surfaced, he had them under control. "Can't believe you've seen me hunt and still think that," he teased. "But I guess you've seen a lot worse."
Kane chuckled against Adrian’s skin and gave him another soft bite. “Nothin’ monstrous there, that was hot,” he murmured next to his ear, grinning faintly. Maybe most people would’ve been horrified to witness that carnage, but Kane wasn’t most people, and watching Adrian display all that strength and power had been deeply arousing. This was nice too, this closeness and sense of free intimacy, and that was another way Kane knew Adrian wasn’t a true monster. Maybe they both had monstrous qualities, and they’d both done awful things they regretted, but that wasn’t all there was to them. There was also this. He pulled back enough to brush their lips together, his hands slowly caressing Adrian’s lower back. “Or maybe I’m one’a them ... what do they call it, monster fuckers?” He tittered softly.
Adrian couldn't help but laugh, eyebrows arching. "Lucky me," he murmured, still grinning. "Though that sounds like some hentaii shit." He hadn't exactly delved into those parts of the internet but he'd grown up with the world wide web and typical teenage boys with a strong urge to shock each other. So he knew about tentacle porn and all that weird shit, he just never in a million years had thought it'd apply to him in any way. "Sorry it's not kinkier?" he teased, but honestly he was glad it wasn't. Things were weird enough without adding to them and he very much enjoyed the way their bodies worked together, no extra appendages needed.
He tended to find cartoon monsters hilarious instead of enticing, so Kane knew he wasn’t one of those people at heart. He didn’t fantasize about the types of things he was supposed to kill, he’d never been attracted to a target before -- Adrian was just a special exception in many ways. “Nah, it’s perfect,” Kane assured him with a tiny smile. They weren’t into tentacles, but they had power dynamics to play around with, a ridiculous amount of emotion between them, crazy chemistry ... there was nothing lacking about the sex for Kane, and he didn’t foresee it getting boring anytime soon. “If you like kinkier though ...?” he trailed off and cocked a curious brow at Adrian, still smirking. Kane might not have extreme fetishes, but he was game to explore any desires Adrian had.
Adrian didn't know why that made him feel so stupidly happy - it's perfect - but it did and that happiness spread through his chest, warm and promising and a little bit dangerous. "Nah, this is... plenty kinky enough for me," he replied, half laughing and nodding along to Kane's telling smile. "Yeah, I'm good, thanks." He was already so far outside his old comfort zone in everything he did these days, for all he knew his taste might grow weirder with time but he kind of hoped not. He just wanted this, more of this and more of the way Kane was looking at him and smiling at him. He was stupidly handsome when he smiled, Adrian hadn't been able to stop thinking about it the first time he'd actually gotten to see a genuine one from him.
Kane chuckled, some part of him deeply pleased that Adrian was satisfied with what they had going on so far. Just looking at his rough surface, nobody would ever peg him as being a people-pleaser, but sex was one of the very few ways Kane ever got approval, and deep down he needed it. “Good,” Kane murmured. “If you ever want anything, just tell me.” He was thoroughly enjoying what they had already, but if Adrian ever wanted to get kinkier -- toys, power plays, more roughness, to tie Kane up and tease him until he begged, anything -- Kane would happily do it. He felt absolutely greedy for him in every way. Kane kissed him again and relaxed his legs for a moment to let them sink into the cool water.