Kane Owen (sellingsouls) wrote in shadows_rpg, @ 2022-10-20 08:22:00 |
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Entry tags: | #july 2018, adrian, adrian x kane, kane |
Who: Adrian & Kane
Where: Portland
When: Saturday 7/6
Warning: NSFW
Status: complete, Part 1
Staying in a nice hotel had Adrian realizing he needed to get a good bed soon. Sleeping in this one was like drifting off on a cloud and he was in good company as well so his sleep was mostly dreamless. He did dream but it was a refreshing bout of nonsense where his biggest worry had been inserting a catheter on a tiny creature for some bizarre reason. No dead bodies, no monsters, no death - just mild frustration and anxiety about work that he forgot about pretty fast after waking up and realizing Kane was curled up against him, his leg heavy over Adrian's leg, one arm slung over his center.
He spent a minute or two just studying his face, a nice change from looking blearily at his phone until he needed to get up. It was interesting to see Kane so relaxed, to be able to watch him without being watched back. Adrian even pretended to be just waking up as well when Kane stirred, stretching out against him and snuggling in against him. God he wanted to wake up like this all the time and it made him feel like a sucker. But then Kane was a sucker too so that was okay. "Mornin'," he drawled and hoped his breath wasn't too bad. Not that it mattered, they'd seen and felt each other at their worst, a little morning breath was cakewalk in comparison.
Kane had also slept soundly, surrounded by comfort and Adrian’s body and worn out from such a good night. If he dreamed at all, good or bad, it all dissolved fast and easy as he started to wake up. The way Adrian pressed in close felt delicious and Kane stretched a bit with a low grunt before he re-draped his arm around him. His lips quirked a little and he murmured a fuzzy “mornin’” back. He didn’t think he could’ve wished for a nicer way to wake up. It almost still felt like a pleasant dream, especially with Adrian’s body pressed nicely against his morning wood. Kane gave a lazy rock of his hips and dipped in for a little kiss. Morning breath or not, those lips were inviting as fuck. “Sleep okay?” he murmured, nuzzling their noses a bit.
"More than okay," Adrian sighed contently and it just reminded him that they were going to go look at beds today and try to find something he could order when the time was right. "You?" he asked, back and Kane sure looked like he'd slept well, not that Adrian had a lot of nights to compare this one to, but he looked well rested and happy. Adrian had never seen him wake up badly and now that he thought about it he couldn't remember doing that either. He'd had plenty of awful times waking up in the past but lately he seemed to be calming down some, especially when he didn't have to sleep alone.
He wasn’t immune to nightmares, and they had plagued him for many years when he’d been younger, but Kane’s sleep wasn’t often disturbed enough for him to remember anymore. He drank a lot, so maybe that had something to do with it, or maybe his psyche had just built up a tolerance for the horrific. Sleeping with Adrian seemed to bring a different kind of peace though, one he could feel but not really describe. “Mmhmm.” He let his head drop back to the pillow, his gaze slowly roaming over Adrian’s face. Kane wasn’t sure what time it was, but it didn’t feel late enough for any need to rush out of bed. They had an appointment later, but the rest of the time was theirs, and they would be going to bed together again at the end of it. Kane’s thumb rubbed lightly against Adrian’s back as he tried to think of something to say, but his brain was still waking up and he felt more than content to just lie there and look at his lover.
And that was what they did for a while, sleepily tangled together, watching each other without the need to communicate anything beyond little smiles and meaningful looks. Adrian couldn't help but feel like that was significant, being able to be quiet together, to simply exist in each other's space without the need to fill the silence. It ended up being him who broke it, pushing himself up and pressing a quick kiss on Kane's nose. "Bathroom," he groaned and that was about the only thing that could get him out of bed now, well that and maybe the fact he was getting hungry and his body felt like moving. They had a lot of things they could do today and he was feeling eager to get the day started.
It was an unfortunate but necessary interruption, and Kane enjoyed the view of naked Adrian getting up and heading for the hotel bathroom before he got himself up as well. It felt nicely domestic to get ready together, to brush teeth and tame messy hair and get dressed. He didn’t feel for a moment like he needed to force conversation or antsy like he wanted his own space, and it was already kind of amazing how natural it all felt. Kane knew there would probably be a point where the isolation he was accustomed to would pull at him to return to it, but it definitely wasn’t going to be today.
After they’d grabbed some breakfast out and Kane had exchanged some texts with his contact, he drove to the parking garage where they’d agreed to meet. Even if the human authorities probably wouldn’t understand anything about the deal that was about to take place, it was still an exchange of quite a lot of money, and that had to stay under the radar. Kane drove up to a level of the garage that was nearly empty and parked the SUV in a spot where he could see the ramp. He glanced over at Adrian and gave him a lopsided little smile. “I’ve never had company for this before,” he murmured.
"Do you need me to lay low?" Adrian asked, only half joking as being there suddenly made it all seem a little too real. It wasn't exactly like a scene out of a movie where the cops might show up and there'd be a massive shootout, but knowing what they were there for still made it feel a bit like that. There was no illegal activity as such; for the average person these were just two weirdos exchanging empty canisters but it still put Adrian in mind of dark web activity and dangerous people and he wondered if he should be there at all. It all made him a little nervous without the emotional detachment that his wendigo self seemed to have in spades.
While Kane’s business wasn’t quite as risky as other forms of black market dealings, it was still underground, and there were dangerous people involved in it. There might not be laws on the books about selling souls, but it still wasn’t exactly ethical, and that drew in a certain caliber of person. Kane didn’t think of himself as exempt from that category ... but Adrian was. He could hear a bit of the nervousness in Adrian’s question, which wasn’t misplaced, but part of him kind of liked it. “Nah, I got you,” he said. He didn’t see this interaction going sideways, he’d dealt with this guy before with no problems, but Kane would kill to protect Adrian, he knew it down to his bones. And worse. He pulled out a cigarette and by the time he’d lit it, another vehicle was rolling up the garage ramp. The shiny black sedan with heavily tinted windows parked across the aisle and a few spaces down from them. Kane reached behind the passenger seat to grab the small backpack with the container inside. “Stay in the car,” he murmured to Adrian and moved to get out.
Adrian watched him walk to the other car and of course the damn windows were tinted so he couldn't really see who was inside. He watched intently anyway, just in case there was any indication of something going wrong - not that he had the first clue how he'd react if it did, but he was definitely feeling more and more nervous as the minutes ticked by. The 'what if' scenarios kept building up and he kept trying to remind himself that Kane did this all the time and had survived this long, that this wasn't a movie and there was no mafia or drug dealing gangs involved. It was still hard not to think of all those things that were so far from his own reality, the closest he'd come to anything like this was being present as a friend bought weed before it was legalized. "C'mon," he murmured after a while when there was no sign of Kane getting out of the car. Of course there was no sign of trouble either but that didn't make him any less antsy.
Kane tried not to take too long in the dealer’s car, aware that Adrian was probably on pins and needles ... he didn’t really hate that idea though, did he? He handed the bag over to the other man and exchanged a few pleasantries while he checked the canister, then Kane counted the payout. He was braced to be asked who else was in his vehicle, but his dealer didn’t seem to give a shit that he had company. Which was probably good, because Kane wasn’t sure he was ready to claim Adrian was his boyfriend out loud to anyone who wasn’t Bailey. It wasn’t like this dude was a friend, even if they could shoot the shit pretty easily. Soon enough he was getting out of the car, the wad of cash tucked into the same bag to carry back to the SUV. He quirked a little smile at Adrian through the windshield on his way back, and climbed in smoothly. “Here,” he said as he dropped the pack on Adrian’s lap. “Payday.”
Adrian relaxed as soon as Kane was in the car but not a second sooner and he gave the bag a slightly skeptical look before peeking inside. "Jesus," he whispered and for a second he wasn't sure he wanted to be holding this, like he might accidentally set it on fire or somehow drop it out the window if he wasn't really careful. "That's a lot of- I've never seen this much money in cash." Who was he kidding? He'd never seen this much money in his account either and he could tell that just by looking briefly in the bag. "Wait, how much is this?" he asked and gave Kane a somewhat bewildered look because while he could tell this was a lot, he couldn't exactly guess the number. Kane had thrown some numbers out there already but the one he said now was staggering. "And half is mine?" Adrian asked and it was hard to believe he just had money now. It wasn't going to last him a long time, it was enough for some furniture and a paydown on an apartment plus the rent for the first couple of months but that was so much more than he ever thought he'd get and it was going to change his life for the better.
A giddy sort of warmth blossomed in Kane’s chest as he watched the reality of that much money sink into Adrian. It was like telling someone they’d won the lottery, but better, because Kane was stupidly in love with him now. “It’s all yours,” he said. “It was your idea, your kill. I just made the phone calls.” He knew they’d talked about splitting it before, but Kane didn’t really need it -- Adrian did, and part of Kane felt compelled to take care of him any way he could. As he watched the black car drive away, he started up the SUV engine. “This is not the favor,” he added in a murmur, a little grin crossing his face.
Adrian stared at him in quiet shock for what felt like minutes but in reality was just seconds. It was the look on Kane's face that stopped him from arguing that Kane should take a cut, he looked so happy - so fucking smug - it made Adrian want to kiss him and hit him at the same time. It was too much, it was way too much, but their inside 'joke' reminded him that in the grand scheme of things - it wasn't. He'd lost everything, including years of his life not to mention his actual life at one point. And it still felt insanely weird to get this much money for something that had been so quick and easy - and fun. "I've had easy shifts at the hospital that were fifty times harder than that kill," he mumbled, a chaos of feelings all swirling around inside him. "This is real money, right? It's not fake?" He was joking, mostly to get the edge off and to fight off the urge to slam-hug Kane like a crazy person.
Kane had to laugh a bit, though it was a pretty valid question. “Yeah it’s real. I checked it before I got out. And it’s all there, ten grand,” he assured him. “He knows better than to try and fuck me over.” He’d never killed anyone over a bad business deal, but Kane had no qualms about hurting shitty humans when it was necessary. And in this business, once you let one person fuck with your money, then everybody else started to think they could do the same. “I’m tellin’ you, if you could turn it off and on? You could make a fortune. Or y’know ... we could.” Adrian had no way to collect souls without him, and that was where the big money was. Kane put the vehicle into gear and pulled out of the parking spot. “So, we bed shopping now that you got a bigger budget?” he asked lightly.
They were moving and Adrian barely noticed it as he shook his head, then laughed, now staring at the bag on his lap. This was a pretty powerful motivator to learn to turn it on and off, he had to say, but a part of him also said that it was too risky and that he should just take the windfall and start a normal life. "This is fucking insane," he breathed rather than answer Kane's question, then looked at him with a smile of the cheek-hurting variety. "You're fucking insane." Kane's job was fucking insane too, everything about this was crazy and Adrian reached over to cup the back of Kane's neck, squeezing it tightly. "I'm definitely buying a bigger bed," he tittered. "You'll love it."
That smile was beautiful even out of the corner of his eye, and Kane got a flutter in his chest when he glanced over. He was half tempted to find an ATM and pull out another few thousand to shower him with, but that would be even crazier. He couldn’t be offended by Adrian’s accusation, because yeah, he probably was fucking insane on some level. The neck squeeze felt deeply satisfying, and Kane reached his hand over to rest it on Adrian’s thigh to squeeze him back. “We gotta do test bounces on all the mattresses and make everybody uncomfortable,” he murmured with a crooked grin. He planned to look into a new bed himself, one with an actual frame, all of it with Adrian in mind. More insanity, but Kane felt like this whole thing was going to last longer than he’d initially thought.
Adrian laughed again and that was insane too because normally he'd be the one who was uncomfortable with that. He also realized that what he'd just said was probably insane too, assuming Kane would be sleeping in his bed when it'd probably be a month or two before he actually got one was crazy, but he couldn't imagine stopping this now. "It's gotta be sturdy," he agreed. "With a good headboard so I can tie you up." He smirked as he glanced at Kane again, nothing but happy flutters in his stomach. His heart had sped up from nerves earlier but now it was all but bouncing out of his chest with joyous excitement.
Kane hummed his agreement, getting a little rush of warmth to his groin. It kind of made him wish he had a big truck so he could cart their new beds home with them, but oh well. There would be time, he felt more sure of that now than he probably had a right to feel. He rubbed his thumb firmly against the denim covering Adrian’s thigh and had a moment of weird clarity about just how wrecked he would be if this ended now. Maybe they would find out they were really incompatible, that all this had just been the rush of something new and dark and twisted, just chemistry gone crazy ... Kane thought he could live with that. But if Adrian just changed his mind one day, or if Kane did something stupid to piss him off and it all crashed down abruptly, he knew he would have a hard time with it. There he went thinking about the end again. Kane tried to internally shake it off. “So what are you gonna tell the family? About the influx of cash?” he asked to distract himself, glancing over.
"Insurance and bureaucracy that's way above my paygrade to understand," Adrian replied as he idly carded his fingers through Kane's short hair. "I just hope Mila or my dad don't want to see the paperwork." He knew he could tell them no, but he also knew that it was wildly out of character for him and it might cause them a lot of concern. "Guess I'll just have to practice speaking really fast and in circles so they don't get a chance to ask." He looked at the bag again and was struck again with that complete disbelief that he was holding that much money. It was pretty telling that Kane didn't need a cut which was kind of hilarious because he so didn't seem like he had any money. Adrian supposed that was a safe way to live, why steal from someone who didn't own anything? Kane had done a lot to earn a cut, he'd taken the soul, done the deal, bravely stood his ground when Adrian sadistically used him as bait. It made all sorts of complicated feelings bubble up inside him again and that urge to tackle him came back with a vengeance. "How do you even walk around with something like that?" he asked. "I can't leave it in the car because then the car will for sure get stolen. I can't just stick it in my pocket because holy shit, Kane, it's ten thousand dollars." It'd burn a hole in his pocket, or he'd get mugged in broad daylight inside a furniture store.
Kane couldn’t really conceive of a family nosy enough to demand to look at personal paperwork like that. Maybe Adrian was just being overly cautious, but there was a lot about his family that Kane just couldn’t fully understand, his own upbringing had been so different. If his father or Bailey had insisted on getting into his financial affairs, he would’ve told them to fuck off and mind their own goddamn business. He hadn’t even shown his parents his enlistment paperwork. The awestruck way Adrian talked about the money was kind of cute though, and Kane was half-smiling as he tossed another glance to his right. “It’ll be okay in the car,” he assured him. “I’ll stash it in the back, out of sight. This thing’s got a crazy loud alarm, I’ll beat the shit outta anybody trying to break into it.” There were weapons in the back too, other things he couldn’t lose, but Kane felt pretty good about staying parked at a store for an hour or two. “I told you I got you,” he added in a murmur. “... Unless you wanna swing back by the hotel, we can put it in the safe.”
It was always weirdly satisfying to hear Kane say 'I got you' no matter what the context was because Adrian liked feeling 'got' by him. It was reassuring too and Adrian waved off the last question with a grin. "You got me," he reminded him and it felt kind of good to make Kane take care of it. Adrian rarely shirked responsibilities, but he also wasn't used to black market dealings and wads of cash so he was willing to admit he was out of his depth here. "We're definitely putting it in a safe when we get back though, going out tonight and everything... Where do you wanna go?" he asked and it felt only right to let Kane pick the night's activities. Adrian was pretty sure he'd say yes to anything right now, he was flying high on dopamine and he couldn't imagine that ending anytime soon.
He loved that Adrian accepted his word that it would be okay. Kane hadn’t really known how fucking good it felt to be leaned on, though part of him had always suspected. “Oh, uh ...” He pursed his lips a bit in thought. He’d pretty meticulously planned the night before, but he hadn’t thought this far ahead. “Out to eat again, obviously ... I know bar hoppin’ ain’t that fun for you ... you wanna go to a movie?” Was that super cliche? What else did people do on dates? Kane didn’t even know if there were any interesting museums or whatever in this town. He could already hear Adrian laughing at him for suggesting that, though. “Or I bet there’s some live music somewhere or somethin’.”
"Movies sounds good," Adrian replied and once upon a time he would have loved to go see a live show, but right now dinner and a movie and then straight back to the hotel sounded like way more fun. He'd worry more that he was getting really boring if it wasn't for all the sex he wanted to have when they were back there but maybe being boring was exactly what he needed in his life right now. Kane was anything but boring though and Adrian was still pleasantly surprised that they could hang out like this without any awkward feelings. It wouldn't have surprised him if they only fit together when things were intense and dangerous but seeing Kane relaxed and smiling put him at ease about all that. "We could go see the cryptozoology museum, see if there's anything in there you've actually killed," he suggested playfully. "If that place even still exists."
On some level it felt weird for Kane to spend casual time with anybody at all -- he lived such an isolated life most of the time, only really adept at flirting and bullshitting with strangers at bars. He was only just now getting better at talking to his own sister. But at the same time, hanging out with Adrian felt natural and easy, like they’d been doing it for years already. Maybe it was because they’d had such an intense beginning, and Kane felt like Adrian knew everything important there was to know about him. It really built a sense of intimacy that had little to do with their bodies for once. He wasn’t really picking it apart at the moment though, too focused on wanting to enjoy all this time together and making Adrian happy. His smile made Kane’s chest ache in the best way. “Is that really a thing?” he asked with a hearty laugh. “Man, now I feel like I gotta go see it. What do you say -- bed shopping, museum, then dinner and a movie?” They had plenty of hours to kill, it wasn’t even noon yet.
"Sounds like a good day to me," Adrian replied and while he wasn't really surprised Kane was up for a weird museum, he was still pleased to hear it. It was one of those places he'd always meant to visit when he lived there but the whole 'living' there made him put it off until it was too late. Today he was technically a tourist so the time seemed to finally be right. "I have no idea if it's a good museum," he added. "But I figure we can have fun either way." If the museum was good, it'd be entertaining on its own and if not, they'd just make fun of it and that could be a good time as well with the right company and Kane was definitely that.
“No way in hell it’s a good museum,” Kane snickered. “That’ll just make it better.” He wanted to go to some dusty hole in the wall place with weird combinations of animals stitched together and blurry photos blown up to poster sizes on the walls. He was curious now to see if they had anything real at all. No matter what, he knew Adrian was right -- they would have a good time with it. Just like they were about to have fun with mattress shopping. Kane pulled into the furniture store and found an out of the way spot to park. Once they’d climbed out and stashed the money bag securely in the back, he pushed the button on the key fob to activate the alarm and headed toward the store doors beside Adrian.
It was weirdly domestic to go bed-shopping with Kane, even if Adrian was currently just window shopping to order later. Some dumb part of his brain liked to imagine they were actually buying a bed for their bedroom, like they were moving in together, but that was not going to happen for real. He didn't even know if they could stay in the same place for long, vacations and one nighters were completely different from actually living together. He couldn't help but glance around when they entered the store to make sure he didn't know anyone but the odds of running into a familiar face were low. "So you're thinking about getting a proper bed frame?" he asked as they wandered past other furniture that all made him wish he had a home to fill. He didn't even really know what his style was, he'd never made enough money to have a style, but there were plenty of things in there he could imagine enjoying in his own place.
Kane felt pretty ambivalent about furniture -- it all just looked ‘fine’ to him. It was nice to have comfortable stuff, but he could even live without that. Bailey said he lived like a serial killer, Kane just thought it made him low maintenance and portable. He never worried about leaving shit behind when he had to move on from a place. Maybe that was changing, maybe not, he still didn’t feel like he knew how to decorate a room. His own eyes were roaming around, scouting the best exits while he took in the sea of furniture sets. “Yeah, guess I might as well,” Kane answered, sounding more casual than it felt. It definitely hadn’t been a random impulse. “Something sturdy, you know.” He smirked a bit. “What size are you lookin’ for?”
Adrian knew what the answer was, something big enough for two that still seemed reasonable for one guy who wasn't interested in dating. "Texas King, of course," he said instead, flashing Kane a bright grin before wandering over to a bed that looked a little more like what he was looking for. "If it's not almost too big for my future room, then what's the point, right?" he added and sat down, bouncing a little. "Why, what are you looking for?" he added slyly, like he was flirting in a crappy movie, narrowing his eyes as he looked up at Kane. His mattress was comfy enough so he really only needed a bed frame but maybe he wanted a brand new everything. Adrian didn't really care, talking about beds just had so many fun layers to it that had nothing to do with furniture quality.
It was so tempting to push him backward and climb on top of him, Kane had to stick his hands in his pockets for a second as he smirked down at him. His current mattress was a good enough size for the both of them, and only months old, so he was satisfied enough with it. He just probably ought to live like a grown up and get it up off the floor. “Just a frame that won’t break while I’m fuckin’ the shit outta you,” Kane murmured. He got close enough to nudge one of Adrian’s knees with his own, then sat down next to him. He bounced a little himself and made a ho-hum sort of sound. It didn’t feel firm enough to him.
There was nobody near them to hear that but Adrian still felt some heat crawl up his neck at Kane's words, hyper aware that they were in a public space with no loud music drowning out their voices. "So we agree on sturdy," he murmured and he could still feel that spot where Kane's knee touched his, a ghost of a touch that he already missed. "I'd love a bed like that one at the hotel," he said as he bounced once more before getting to his feet because no, this was not the bed he was looking for. "I think you should fuck the shit outta me on that one before we leave." He managed to sound casual but his grin turned a little more shy and he couldn't help but look around again.
Kane could see those nerves and he found it cute as fuck. It made him want to flirt a little louder and grab Adrian’s ass a bit just to be more obvious and watch him get all squirmy about it. That was kind of cruel though, even if it made his dick tingle a little. Kane stood up as well and bumped shoulders with Adrian as he started to walk past. “I oughta fuck the shit outta you on this Serta over here,” he teased quietly. “But I’ll wait ‘til after the movie.” If they even made it that long. Kane was sure there were inconspicuous places to park in this town. Or they could go back to the hotel. Why did everything feel like foreplay? Fuck. Kane meandered a couple of mattresses away to try another one.
Adrian only looked at two more beds before a salesperson meandered towards them to help. He wanted to say it was annoying but the guy was actually pretty helpful and either didn't care or didn't notice the subtle flirting between him and Kane. It was still difficult to focus on the business end of furniture when he was thinking about sex with Kane and he was more than a little glad when the guy left them to go get some technical information about a bed he was interested in. It gave him some privacy to bounce on it and he did just that before sprawling out on the mattress. "Yeah, I think this one might be the one," he murmured. "What do you think?"
He was so used to the two of them being completely alone, it was a bit of a challenge to keep his hands off of Adrian in this family-friendly public setting. Kane gave him a bit of room while he talked to the salesman, letting his mind wander through a little fantasy about being locked up together after hours in a mattress store. He smiled as Adrian flopped onto the one he seemed to like. Kane sidled in a bit closer, then jumped up onto the mattress on his knees at Adrian’s side, one hand landing on his chest. He bounced a few vigorous times, grinning a bit. “Feels pretty good to me,” he murmured. “A lot depends on the frame though.” The mattress felt comfortable at least, and Kane was already looking forward to breaking it in.
Adrian smiled up at him and it was insane how he'd gone from 'no public display of affection' to wanting to pull Kane down for a kiss, even if there were other people milling about not far from them and a salesman probably on his way back. "I'll make sure to find a sturdy frame," he murmured and there was a moment where some inexplicable emotion washed over him, tightening his chest and making him wonder just what the hell was going on with them. He could stay put and revel in it, but it scared him a little so he sat up and did a complementary bounce before standing up. He had the fleeting thought that when this ended he'd want to buy a new mattress because this one was theirs but that kind of splurging was a luxury he couldn't afford in the future. "You look good on that mattress too," he said teasingly, now that their positions were reversed and he was standing over Kane.
Kane tossed a quick glance around to make sure nobody was looking at them -- one lady’s eyes cut their way a couple of times, but she seemed to be trying to avoid staring, so that didn’t bother him much. He flopped further onto the mattress in the space Adrian vacated and got into a cheesy-sexy sort of pose like he was a pinup girl. “Yeah? The perfect bed accessory,” he murmured. Kane didn’t stay there long, snickering a bit as he rolled off of the bed and back onto his feet. It was really only for display anyway, they probably shouldn’t mess around on it too much. He was about to say something else and reach for Adrian’s ass when he spotted the salesman approaching again. Kane tucked his hands back into his pockets and tried to look well behaved. Next stop was the frames and he already wondered if they would pick out the same one.
Adrian couldn't argue with the fact that Kane was a good bed accessory, in fact he wanted him on his bed in the future as often as possible, despite all the complications there. He was still kind of laughing when the salesman returned and after talking with him for a bit they headed to the next area to look at said frames. There were a few that caught his eye that had headboards that felt like too much but could have been so fun for some light bondage. He didn't even know if they'd ever actually do that but the idea had been planted and it stuck around, stubbornly. None of them felt like his style - even if he didn't really know what his style was - too posh, too gothic, too something every one of them. The padded ones looked nice but left no room for tying anyone up and the ones that were simple enough for his taste didn't look sturdy enough. Maybe he was thinking too much about his wendigo self and its strength but those finely curved metals looked highly breakable. It all clashed a bit in his mind, the ones he wanted weren't practical enough, the ones that were practical didn't really please his eye. Others felt far too obvious somehow, even if he didn't think his family would immediately assume he liked bondage just because his headboard had bars on it. "You see anything you like?" he asked Kane as he began to wonder if he should just get a simple frame and leave the headboard for later. It'd be cheaper too. Let Kane buy the kinky stuff.
If the salesman didn’t suspect they were together before, he definitely did now, and Kane smirked briefly before he caught himself. Or maybe platonic bros consulted each other on their headboard preferences all the time, who knew. Kane kind of doubted it though. He hummed noncommittally as he strolled down the row of options again, looking with the same critical eye as Adrian. He cared less about the aesthetics, and had no idea what kind of vibe Adrian was going for in his bedroom, but there were plenty of them he ruled out immediately just because they looked flimsy. He stopped at a wooden one with simple slats that seemed sturdy enough and gestured to it, looking over with a raised brow. “You got this in any other colors?” he asked the salesman. When the answer came back that they had it in three different wood grains, Kane grunted and nodded. “That might be it, then. For me anyway.” He gave Adrian a questioning look, his lips quirking up a bit. “You wanna match?”
It was just a headboard but Adrian pursed his lips in amusement at the fact that they were compatible there. It was nice and understated and the first one he spotted that he had any interest in. "I don't know, sounds kinda gay," he murmured but he couldn't keep his grin under wraps or sound too serious about it. "I'll consider it." At least now he'd know what to order and get all the information he needed for when he got an apartment. Hopefully at Castle View. The more time he spent with Kane, the more he couldn't imagine living so far away from him that they couldn't easily sneak over to see each other like some lovesick teenagers who weren't allowed to meet. That was all on him of course and he could change that whenever he wanted. He just wasn't sure it was worth turning his life upside down in case this didn't even last.
Kane flashed him a grin. It was pretty gay, but now that the idea had crossed his mind, he really wanted them to have the same bed. Like they were both at home, wherever they ended up crashing. Like even when they were apart, they were sleeping in the same bed. That was probably overly romantic idiotic nonsense, but it appealed to Kane anyway. “Aight then,” he murmured, looking pleased as he ambled back over to Adrian and the salesman. “I’ll take that one then.” Adrian wasn’t buying today, but Kane could, and the guy had been nice enough to deserve a bit of commission for his time. The next twenty minutes or so was spent getting the order placed and Kane’s card swiped and everything, and as they headed to the door he felt pretty good about it. “You’re gonna be a man with a bed pretty soon, how you feel about it?” he teased Adrian as he held the door for him.
"So fucking good," Adrian replied and it might be a teasing but his answer was still heartfelt and enthusiastic. "And you're getting an upgrade," he murmured and bumped against Kane as they started walking toward the car. "How do you feel about that?" He knew he was happy about it, he might not be able to spend a lot of nights with Kane just yet but he was looking forward to breaking in his new headboard - and hopefully not break it. Most of all, of course, he really just looked forward to not being in his niece's future room anymore, to have his own little place and feel less like he was stepping on people's toes just by existing.
He would’ve stayed content to keep his bed on the floor if it hadn’t been for Adrian, so it felt more like some sort of bonus than a thing he’d wanted to accomplish. “I feel like you oughta come help me put it together when it gets delivered,” Kane told him, bumping him back a little. He laughed and finally gave Adrian’s ass that smack as they parted ways to walk to their respective car doors. He pulled out a cigarette before he climbed into the car and started it up. “Nah, it’ll be nice. Might as well start living like a grownup if I’m sticking around a while, right?” Kane glanced over at him with a little smile. Maybe it was crazy and stupid and all that stuff, but he wanted to stay in their haunted ass town, and the main reason was sitting right next to him.
"Yeah," Adrian tittered and managed to sound so casual about it even as the simple words made his stomach twist and warmth spread through him. He had no idea if Kane would stick around for a long time or not, but hearing him say it still did stupid things to him. He kept almost picturing some kind of future for them but always stopped himself because this whole thing falling apart would hurt enough without him also mourning some imaginary future that nobody had promised him. "Man, I did manage to live like a grownup for a while," he said, doing his best to ignore those intense feelings welling up inside of him, glad he wasn't near a chatty psychic at the moment. "Had a small apartment, pictures on the walls, nice couch, a tv, coffee maker - the whole shebang. Didn't spend a whole lot of time there, of course, I worked way too much." That was something he didn't want to do again. He liked his job, despite its flaws, but he wanted more time to himself now. It was like he'd gotten a second - or third, or fourth - chance at life, he didn't want to rack up regrets.
Kane swung wildly between trying his hardest to predict the future and then swearing he would never get his hopes up about anything, and it was a rollercoaster all on its own. Whatever it was, however it ended, he just wanted to hold onto it with both hands until he couldn’t anymore. “Man, I’ve been through so many apartments, but ... none of ‘em really felt like mine. I was just passin’ through, you know? A few months here and there, never more’n a year. If they weren’t already furnished I never bothered to put much in them.” He’d stayed housed more often than not while he was wandering around the country killing monsters, but none of them had ever really felt like home. His SUV felt more homelike than all those places. “So I’ll need some shit like that. Should we get a registry together?” he asked, smirking over at Adrian as he cracked the window. “Have a joint housewarming party?”
"You'd like that, wouldn't you," Adrian drawled back at him and it could have been so easy to feel like Kane was mocking him. "But no, I want everything on that registry, I want all the presents for myself," he added. "You can afford to buy your own." Not for the first time he thought of the cash in the back and squashed that dumb urge to check if it was still there. "You can fund the house warming party, it won't be the favor." He couldn't even imagine having a housewarming party, mixing his family and current friends, having Kane there? Nope. Nope nope nope. He did plan on telling Mila they were becoming friends though, him and her random savior out on Witcham - who Adrian had obviously never, ever met before.
His answer made Kane laugh a bit and he slouched comfortably in the car seat, content to hang out and bullshit while he smoked his cigarette. They would have to look up where this museum was anyway, he hadn’t even known it existed much less where it was. If Adrian did have a housewarming party, he probably wouldn’t be invited, and he knew it. It shouldn’t bother him, he didn’t deserve the spot he had in Adrian’s life as it was, he couldn’t ask for more. Kane didn’t even know if he could have a real, functional relationship, he didn’t even know how to have a functional family, could he navigate mingling with someone else’s whole social circle? Still, in some other life ... it might’ve been nice. “I’ll send you my best caterer,” he murmured wryly. He flicked some ash out the window. “So where’s this goofy place at? Find me some directions, navigator.”
Adrian stole a hit off his cigarette before he pulled out his phone for directions. He might have lived here for a while but it had been a while and this museum hadn't exactly been on his daily route. It wasn't too far away and it wasn't as big as he'd hoped but he'd been right that it'd be good for a laugh. A lot of it was private humor, which he was pleased to know they had even if Adrian had only been on one hunting trip with him. He was familiar with plenty of the cryptids on display but there were a few surprises which Kane confirmed didn't actually exist as far as he knew. Kane wasn't off the hook for shopping after they were done at the museum as Adrian roped him into going for ice cream and clothes shopping - which wasn't exactly a favorite for either of them but that probably made it better as they both liked getting in and out quickly. It was also just kind of nice to try something on and get a look of approval from Kane and vice versa because of course Adrian made him try on a shirt or two as well. "We don't have a lot of time before dinner," Adrian said as they walked back to the car. "What do you want to do now? Go back to the hotel with all our bounty or got something else in mind?"
The cryptid museum had definitely been entertaining, and Kane had snickered his way through most of it, his joy at all the silly depictions of mostly-fantasy monsters greatly enhanced by Adrian’s presence. They laughed and nudged each other and made dirty jokes under their breath and it was fantastic. Having Adrian there made clothes shopping more fun too, and Kane ended up buying more than he really intended to once Adrian had nudged him into actually looking for himself. He had someone to actually look good for now, it only made sense to bulk up his wardrobe, right? It didn’t hurt that every time Adrian looked him over he got a little excited inside. He opened the door in the back so they could put their bags back there, and subtly checked to make sure the money bag was still securely in place. He might not need ten grand, but Adrian did, so Kane was going to watch over it. “Hotel,” he decided, glancing over at Adrian. “Freshen up, get changed ... maybe figure out what movie we’re actually gonna go see.” Kane chuckled and closed the back, then moved to climb in behind the wheel again.
It was hard to stop by the hotel and not stay at the hotel and Adrian knew that would be the case if they went back there. They still managed, mostly because after making out a little they were both hungry enough to leave again so they got dressed up for dinner and Adrian browsed through the movie listings on the way to the restaurant. It felt a little weird to constantly be a passenger, but he kind of liked it. Kane was a good driver and being in the car with him made Adrian feel pretty calm and at ease. He just followed where Kane wanted to go and didn't have to think too hard about it. Except the movie, but they settled on Deadpool 2, even if Adrian hadn't seen the first one. Plot wasn't super important in movies like that and it seemed like it was a good laugh that they didn't need to pay too much attention to. First the restaurant though and Adrian wasn't disappointed in Kane's choice this time either. It was weird to experience something and already feel how much he was going to miss it when it was over. Going home was going to suck so he kept focusing on the moment and memorizing every little detail while it was still available to him.
Kane felt pretty spiffy in his new shirt, and it was a fun novelty to actually feel like he fit in at a nice restaurant. Adrian looked good enough to be the main course himself, and Kane lost track of their easy conversation once or twice because he got caught up in looking at him. By the time they were done eating, he was tempted to suggest they skip the movie and go back to the hotel ... but it seemed foolish to waste the opportunity to be out like this. If he couldn’t openly take Adrian on a date back home, Kane wanted to give him a second one while they could. In the ticket line at the movie theater, he stood with his shoulder brushing Adrian’s, his stomach all aflutter like he was a teen doing this for the first time again. There was just something about theaters, and when they were seated and the lights went down, he keenly remembered what it was. That near-privacy in public was tantalizing. They didn’t get too terribly far into the trailers before his hand was on Adrian’s thigh. The theater wasn’t too crowded, there were plenty of empty seats around them, but even if there weren’t, Kane wasn’t sure he would care.
For Adrian, going to the movies was both exhilarating because he'd never been to the movies with someone he Liked before, but it was also nostalgic as hell because he hadn't been in years. Everything about it just felt exciting, from the lights dimming to the surround system starting up and then Kane's hand on his thigh made him feel all melty inside. He covered it with his own, glancing over at him in the dark while the ads played for movies he had no interest in. There weren't a lot of people in there, the movie had been showing for a while and it felt far more private than it probably was. Kane's hand felt warm under his and even if they'd been far more intimate than this before, Adrian's heart sped up a little, a pleasant buzz in his stomach.
He had been to movies plenty of times with girls he was into and his buddies, but never with another man he had feelings for. Not that there had been many of those. Kane went to movies alone pretty often, when something struck his fancy and he had time to kill. It felt so different to be there with Adrian, his hand nestled nicely and a warm feeling spreading in his chest. Kane made somewhat of an effort to pay attention as the movie started, and it was funny right off the bat ... his mind just kept wandering back to how firm Adrian’s thigh felt under his palm. Some of Kane’s fondest makeout-memories had occurred in movie theaters, and it wasn’t long before he shifted in closer to Adrian and looked over at him, a little smile toying with his lips.
Adrian more felt the look than he saw it and a little smile curled up on his lips. Sure, he wanted to see this movie but it was the experience of being there on an actual date that appealed to him far more. He tilted his head and slowly looked sideways at Kane, pulling his hand up a little higher on his thigh as he leaned in closer to him. The pressure of Kane's fingers through his nice slacks sent a pleasant shiver through him but he didn't close the distance between them, simply watching Kane in the flickering lights from the screen. Like everything else this weekend, this was something he wanted to do again and he could imagine seeing some old classic at the Orion on weekends like he'd used to do as a teen. Only this time it'd be Kane next to him, not his high school girlfriend. There'd be real tension, just like now. Actual touching, just like now.
There was tension all right, just the way Adrian moved his hand higher on his leg sent blood rushing into Kane’s cock. The way Adrian was looking at him didn’t hurt either, and Kane just stared back at him for a little while, studying the way the light played off of his features. Fuck, he was beautiful, in the most literal sense. Kane felt like he could stare at him all day, and it somehow didn’t seem like sappy bullshit. Maybe that made him a sucker, maybe it meant he was in love, maybe there wasn’t a difference between the two. Kane just knew it made his heart beat hard and sweet, and he literally couldn’t get enough of this man. Still gazing steadily at him, Kane slipped his palm even further up Adrian’s leg until the side of his hand connected with warm crotch. He stared for another beat, then leaned in to brush his lips against Adrian’s.
Adrian was pretty sure he didn't want to get too hot and heavy in a movie theater but this felt unbelievably good and the movie had become nothing but background noise for the time being as he leaned into that kiss and felt the core temperature in his body rising. He was sure someone would notice they were making out and he couldn't bring himself to care, the vibe was too good and everything about Kane felt fantastic. He deepened the kiss, fingers trailing up Kane's arm before he reached over to squeeze his thigh back, massaging him through his pants as he moved his hand slowly upwards. He hadn't really expected them to sit through a whole movie without touching but this was like a teenage fantasy made real, 'kissing a cute boy in a dark theater' without worry or guilt.
As long as nobody bothered them, Kane didn’t give a fuck if anybody saw. And if someone did bother them, he would handle it. He didn’t mind getting banned from a random movie theater in a city he didn’t even live in. Nobody in the building mattered to him but Adrian. Nobody in all of Portland. Tingles from Adrian’s hand ran up his leg like electricity, and his boxer briefs got tighter. The movie was noisy and bright and fast on the edges of his awareness, but everything happening between them felt like it was in sensual slow motion. Even the necessary limit on what they could do in this setting felt good, like an invisible velvet rope to push against. The muscles in his hips tensed with the effort not to squirm as Adrian’s touch got closer to his cock. Kane tilted his head to taste him deeper, his tongue happy to explore all over again.
Adrian's fingers found their destination and it felt like it was the first time touching Kane like this, probably because of the public - or more likely because of the setting and how it all compounded into the height of his teenage fantasies come to life. He could feel more of Kane's cock through the fabric of the pants he was wearing than he would through a pair of jeans and he was hot to the touch and oh so reactive. Adrian knew this was as far as they were going, he didn't want to be the kind of guy who got creepy at the movies, but God it was exciting and hot already. He was just glad his mouth was occupied because in this moment the words 'I think I love you' were right there on the tip of his tongue, stupid and reckless - dangerous even.
There would probably come a day when they would easily be able to keep their hands off of each other, but today wasn’t it, and Kane couldn’t even really imagine it at this point. Pretty soon they would be back where they couldn’t be out together at all, so even though there were limits on what they could do in a public movie theater, this felt like a treat. It also felt like sweet torture since now he really wanted them both stripped down and pressed together, but the denial was part of the fun. Besides, how could he complain when Adrian was touching him like that? Kane let out a soft sound, muffled in the kiss, and he pushed a tiny bit against Adrian’s palm, hungry for any pressure he could get but still needing to be subtle. A deep part of him was delighted to be touched first, to know that Adrian was turned on enough to risk it, that he wanted him that badly. Kane shifted his own hand to cover Adrian’s crotch, his thumb rubbing down the hard length of him nestled in his pants.
Adrian swallowed his urge to moan, even if he was pretty sure it would have been drowned out by the movie noises. That touch felt a lot firmer than it really was and it felt dangerous at the same time because of the pleasure it sent rushing through him, pulling along it the greed for more. He kind of wished they'd gone straight to the hotel now, but at the same time this was an experience he wouldn't have wanted to miss. He smiled faintly against Kane's lips, his fingers rubbing and circling slowly over his crotch. He knew he'd be far more hesitant if this was actually his first time touching Kane and maybe some of that sheer panic was missing to make this more authentic, but that was not a part of it he missed and he felt exhilarated enough as it was.
Kane was already thinking of the restrooms here, maybe a lucky unlocked closet, somewhere he could pin Adrian against a hard surface and cover his mouth while he fucked the hell out of him. They definitely weren’t the kinds of fantasies he had back when he was necking in a theater as a teenager. The excitement tasted the same though, and the rush of heat and intense feelings in his core had never gotten old, they’d just gotten less frequent. Adrian was changing that. Kane lingered in it for a long few moments, his body gradually getting more overheated in his nice new clothes as he kissed and fondled his nice new lover. ‘Nice’ wasn’t really the word for Adrian though, was it? It was one of Kane’s favorite things about him. Eventually he had to break the kiss, grazing his teeth against Adrian’s bottom lip before he pulled back just enough to breathe. “I can’t fuckin’ stand how hot you are,” he whispered.
Adrian exhaled slowly, just barely making out the words and yet they hit him like a freight train of heat and desire. He grabbed Kane's hand and brought it up to his lips to kiss his fingers, torn between similar thoughts as Kane was having and staying for the movie and stewing for... however fucking long it was. Kane had paid for their tickets and it wasn't cheap and some stubborn part of him wanted to stay. "You're distracting me," he whispered back heatedly and nibbled on Kane's index finger before kissing him briefly again. "You do that a lot." It wasn't so much an accusation as it was praise because Kane was always highly distracting in the best of ways.
He couldn’t decide which he liked touching more, Adrian’s cock or his lips. They were both goddamn gorgeous, and it was all he could do not to plunge his fingers into that plush mouth. He didn’t want to get too riled up, at least not until they were headed for the men’s room or the car. He really wasn’t sure if they would last through the whole movie, but he wasn’t at the tipping point of frustration yet. He could settle down, but he didn’t really want to if Adrian wasn’t going to make him. “You want me to stop?” he murmured with a wicked little grin. “Or you wanna get fucked in the restroom?” He brushed his thumb over Adrian’s bottom lip, gazing at him hungrily.
"I do not want to get fucked in the restroom," Adrian told him but the way he exhaled and grinned said that maybe a small part of him did, a small part that didn't care about hygiene or getting caught. It felt like his arousal was making his eyes heavy, the thought of Kane pushing him up against a cool tiled wall playing in his head a little more than it should and fuck, it'd be hot as hell. He definitely didn't want him to stop either but there was a slightly sadistic - and probably masochistic - part of him that delighted in pulling away from Kane and settling in his seat with an almost smug grin. "We should watch this movie," he whispered and gave Kane's crotch a little squeeze before moving his hand down to his thigh.
Kane’s head fell back against the seat and he barely bit back a groan, but god did the tease make him feel all fluttery inside. Maybe they didn’t have to fuck, maybe they could go jerk each other off or something else easy, and he almost suggested it, but he knew that was just his aching dick talking. This was just foreplay, there were all kinds of delights to come. After this dumb movie that he was going to fantasize his way through whether he was kissing Adrian or not. He settled back in himself, adjusting his hardon and his pants a bit, then put his hand over Adrian’s and laced their fingers together. He could behave, he told himself. They were on a nice date like civilized people, and he could wait to ravish Adrian until they were back in their hotel room.
Adrian almost regretted it for the rest of the movie. It was fun, yes, and he was very pleasantly surprised to see an actual gay couple in a big blockbuster movie without it being a big deal so that was exciting but... It wasn't really a movie he got sucked into and he couldn't stop thinking about dragging Kane out of there and just seeing the movie later. It was sweet agony and he kept giving Kane little sidelong glances as he thought about his cock and his mouth, about the whole of his body pressed against his own, every thought he had escalating until he was painfully hard. He could feel Kane was in a similar state, not by any senses he could name. There was just a vibe, a feeling between them, electric heat that seemed to spark deep inside him. Over an hour. It was torture and he was up and out of his seat the second the credits started rolling, pulling Kane with him while most of the other people there stayed in their seats. Adrian had no idea about this trend of end-credit scenes and truly he wouldn't give a shit if he did. He was not sitting in there for a minute longer, eager to get back to the hotel.
He didn’t think he’d ever paid less attention to a movie. It seemed like an okay movie for that, some of the jokes still landed with no context and it was definitely action-packed so it wasn’t like he was missing some intricate brilliant plot. Kane was content to trace little details of Adrian’s fingers with his thumb and squeeze his own cock now and then with his other hand. He didn’t hesitate to get up to go as soon as Adrian did, a dumb sort of grin on his face as they quick-strolled out of the theater. Kane knew why most everyone else stayed behind, but he didn’t give a single fuck -- it would just make getting out of the parking lot that much easier. The instant they’d made it through the exit doors, Kane pulled Adrian to one side and crowded him against the brick wall to kiss him again. He wasn’t going to linger long, but he couldn’t resist one more quick taste.
It was hardly out of the blue but it still managed to catch Adrian by some surprise and the intense urge to start stripping Kane right then and there was hard to curb. He wrapped his arms around his waist and pulled him in close as he kissed him back greedily, feeling a bit like he was coming undone from somewhere deep within. "If you don't get us back to the hotel now we're gonna get arrested," he whispered breathlessly against his lips, hands fisting against his back as he tried to get himself under control. He wasn't in wendigo mode, but he felt like he could effortlessly tear through all of Kane's clothing on willpower alone and this was not the time and place for that. He was sure it radiated off him, the hunger for Kane, the need for more and the urgency he was feeling - even if he wanted to stay right there, pinned between brick and a hard body, exploding with need.
Kane let out a breathy laugh and pushed his body harder against Adrian’s for a moment. The vibe between them was impossible to miss, and he could practically see the lust shimmering in the air between them. Not that there was much air to start with. “C’mon,” he muttered, pulling away and grabbing for Adrian’s hand again. It didn’t take long before they were climbing into the SUV again, though it seemed to take an hour, and Kane fired it up before their doors were even closed. “Straight back to the hotel?” he teased, glancing over with a little grin. “Or you wanna go paint the town some more?” He very much knew the answer, but being a dick was distracting from how much he wanted to drag Adrian into the back and get his pants off.
"Fuck you," Adrian tittered as he pulled his seatbelt on. "I'm all out of paint." He kept looking at Kane, kind of marveling how stupidly attracted to him he felt. He'd never thought he was capable of emotions this strong, it had made the idea of never coming out of the closet a lot easier thinking everything would be kind of lukewarm and boring for the rest of his life but now he felt ambivalent about it all. He wasn't going to throw everything away for lust alone but that wasn't all this was and he knew it. "Give me a cigarette to keep me busy or I'll get us in a crash," he murmured as he adjusted himself and fought the temptation to actually rub himself for some relief. Even as he opened the window, the air felt thick and he knew it was all in his body.
There was a nasty joke there about white paint or something, but Kane didn’t have the brain to find it and it would be stupid anyway. He fished his cigarette pack out of his pocket and tossed it casually into Adrian’s lap. “Light me one too,” he murmured, re-settling into the driver’s seat. He glanced over a few times as Adrian lit their smokes, admiring both those long-fingered hands and the bulge in his pants. Kane tried to concentrate on the road and his vehicle and which direction he needed to turn as they left the complex that held the movie theater. They hadn’t ventured too far afield for any of their date activities, and he was glad for it, because he was more than ready to be back at the hotel.