Warning: This story contains a scene of sexual self-restraint equivalent to gentle bondage, and gentle bondage as a sexual experience is discussed afterward in non-explicit detail. A couple of times. Also implicit mention of domination, similarly tame and sweet.

The weirdest thing about Sue Messingi's departure from the Harbor Children's Cooperative was that it affected him in any way. He knew her, sure. He'd been volunteering at the co-op for six months, and she'd been there for three of them. But Sue worked the morning shift in the toddler room while he volunteered afternoons in the pre-school area, so their influence on each other's work environments was minimal.

Until the day Rebecca called him into the office and told him that Sue had just given them her notice. Gee, that's too bad, he'd said, wondering what it had to do with him. She went on to explain that the woman he worked for in the pre-school area was going to take over the toddler room in Sue's absence. That meant there would be an opening for a full-time staff person in the pre-school area.

Hunter was starting to understand where this was going. And yeah, it was flattering, but he already had a job. One that he really liked.

"I understand," she'd agreed, when he told her he was a motocross rider first and a co-op volunteer second. "But depending on your winter schedule, we'd be willing to consider you for a temporary position until the motocross season starts up again."

Really? He looked at her with renewed interest. He liked volunteering--he wouldn't do it if he didn't--but he had to admit that the idea of getting paid for the time was appealing. Whether he could manage a full-time job, even in the off-season, was another thing entirely.

"Think about it," Rebecca encouraged him. "You're great with the kids, Hunter. We'll start advertising the position tomorrow, but naturally we'd prefer to hire someone we already know."

He did think about it. He thought about the fact that he wasn't touring this winter. He thought about the fact that he'd passed on most of the promos, and that Factory Blue had accepted his ultimatum when he said he was going to train locally this year or not at all.

He thought about what that meant. It wasn't because a broken arm had kept him out of competitive racing for most of the season. He could come back from an injury like that, no problem, and Factory Blue had made it clear they still wanted him. He had the speed, the experience, and name recognition. If he gave them everything he had, they would take it.

He wasn't doing that anymore. He had a boyfriend now: one with ties to Blue Bay Harbor, one who wasn't going to follow him all over the state just because that was what motocross riders did. One who was maybe willing to do a long distance relationship--one who had done a long distance relationship, for years, even if Hunter hadn't realized it at the time.

He realized it now. He also realized that it wasn't for him. He was either serious about motocross or he was serious about Cam. One of them had to be more important, and he already knew which one he wanted it to be.

"Got a job offer today," he told Cam that night at dinner. They had agreed not to act like they lived together before they actually did, but going out every night got expensive. And annoying. There were plenty of things they couldn't talk about in public. So they ate in whenever one of them was motivated enough to actually make their own food.

"Oh?" Cam looked tired, and Hunter figured it was a good thing he'd come over after work to make sandwiches. Cam probably would have canceled on him otherwise. "I thought you were going to be at the Co-Op today."

"I was," Hunter agreed. He waited, wondering if Cam was too out of it for games tonight.

Cam blinked, and Hunter smiled. Nope. He got it, all right.

"They offered you a job," Cam said slowly.

"Sure did," Hunter agreed. "Full time with the three- and four-year-olds."

Cam was studying him. "When?" he wanted to know.

"In a couple of weeks," Hunter said with a shrug. "I'd be taking someone else's place. She just gave her notice, so."

Cam smiled a little at that. "I meant, how long," he said, reaching for his glass. "Is this just a temporary thing? For the winter?"

"Could be." Hunter had some thoughts about that too, actually, but he wasn't ready to share them. "I already told Factory Blue I wasn't gonna tour, and the Co-Op's willing to pick me up until spring trials."

Cam set his glass down again, deliberately casual. "Well, it would keep you off the streets," he remarked.

It would keep him in Blue Bay Harbor. That's what it would do.

"Yeah," Hunter teased. "That's how they usually advertise daycare work. 'Need to stay off the streets? Come take care of our kids!'"

Cam didn't laugh. "Are you going to do it?" he asked the table. "You sound pretty positive about it."

"Yeah," Hunter agreed. "I think I am. I mean, at first I figured no way, right? But I've got the time, and they're good people. Be nice to have a regular schedule again, anyway."

Cam looked way less tired when he finally caught Hunter's eye. "That's great," he said, and even his voice seemed lighter. Hunter smiled when he added, "Congratulations."

Which was how he ended up with all of Thanksgiving weekend off, and no reason to say no when the Hansons invited him to dinner along with their daughter and son-in-law. He brought Cam, obviously. Tori's sister brought her boyfriend, too, and Tori's mom had both her parents there. They were ten people all together, and it was kind of a zoo.

Not as bad as the wedding, Hunter reminded himself. Way fewer people than had been at the wedding. On the other hand, they were trying to fit those people into a much smaller space. And even if there weren't any children this time, Tori and her sister completely made up for it: they talked quickly and loudly when they were in agreement, and they were just as fast and forceful when they weren't. He and Blake looked like they barely acknowledged each other's presence by comparison.

Of course, he and Blake spent a lot of their time in the living room, watching the game with Tori's grandfather. They were joined by Laci's boyfriend less than an hour in. He was Nepalese, and if he knew anything about the game it didn't seem translate into cheering for one side or the other. Or reacting to it in any way. As far as Hunter could tell, he was just relieved to be in a room where no one expected him to talk constantly.

That was what Hunter liked about the living room, too. When he was younger, he remembered missing the big family celebrations that his parents had been a part of. Now, seeing those big family celebrations as an adult, he was starting to realize how dangerous they were. Everyone seemed to want to know everything about his life, and every time he made some sort of excuse or evasion, he would turn around to yet another question.

Yes, he rode motocross. No, he wasn't training right now. Yes, it was a safe sport. No, his boyfriend didn't have any problem with his career, and what the hell business was it of theirs, anyway? Did he have any plans to get married?

"It's just because we got married," Tori assured him, when he cornered her on the porch during halftime. "They have weddings on the brain or something. It doesn't have anything to do with you guys."

She paused, giving him a speculative glance. "Does it?"

"Of course not," Hunter scoffed. He folded his arms and glanced at the house, and when he looked back at her he knew he'd given himself away. Tori had her hands on her hips and a knowing smile on her face.

"You're too sharp to be my sister-in-law," he told her. "Can I divorce in-laws? I'm not gonna have any secrets, at this rate."

"Like you had any before," Tori said, rolling her eyes. "Tell me about you and Cam getting married! When did you decide this? How come I didn't know about it?"

"No one knows about it," Hunter insisted, glancing furtively at the house again. "That's why I flipped out when your grandmother mentioned it."

"You and Cam know about it," Tori pointed out. "Come on, since when? Blake said you joked about proposing back in August, but--"

"I haven't," Hunter interrupted. "Okay? Cam doesn't know. And I'd like to keep it that way for a few more weeks."

Tori pounced. "You have a plan!"

"I have an idea," Hunter stressed, trying not to grin at her obvious delight. "A vague, unplanned idea." He hesitated only briefly, because really, who would be a better partner in crime than Tori?

"I could use some help," he began. But Tori didn't need any convincing.

"I am so there," she promised.

Of course he heard about it from Blake later. He made it to the end of the game and all the way through dinner before his brother got him away from the rest of the family long enough to ask. "Are you serious?" Blake demanded. "You and Cam?"

"Yeah," Hunter said simply.

"You've only been dating for three months," his brother protested.

Hunter considered that. "Actually," he said thoughtfully, "I think we've been dating since New Years. I just didn't realize it at the time."

Blake only snorted.

"I seem to remember you calling us 'practically married,'" Hunter pointed out. "Now you're all surprised that I want to make it official?"

"There's a big difference between practically married and married," Blake informed him. "Believe me. I went through it."

Hunter raised his eyebrows. "Think I can't handle it?"

Blake held up his hands in surrender. "I'm just saying, Cam... well, he's a little different than Tori."

Hunter chose to read that as his bro not knowing Cam, instead of his bro getting all political on him. "People who aren't Tori get married every day," he said evenly.

"Okay, yeah, hey." Blake seemed to realize he was treading on thin ice, regardless. "I mean, sure. I guess that's why you're marrying him and not me, right?"

Hunter cracked a smile at that. "There might be a few other reasons."

"Yeah, whatever." Blake rolled his eyes. "How big a secret is this, anyway? You're not exactly broadcasting it."

"I told Tori," Hunter replied dryly.

"Yeah, and don't think I'll forget that I had to find out secondhand," Blake complained, ignoring the implication. "How many other people knew before I did?"

"Just Tori." Hunter shrugged. "And she guessed on her own, so it's not like that really counts."

"So you're not, like, sending out announcements yet?" Blake pressed.

"I haven't even proposed," Hunter said, eyeing him. "There's still a few details to work out."

That made Blake grin. "Oh, I get it. So this is still in the 'one of Hunter's crazy ideas' stage. Tor made it sound like you'd already set a date and picked a caterer."

"Tell Cam and die," Hunter warned. "I don't care who else knows, but if he finds out from one of you guys..."

"Yeah, yeah, I know how it works," Blake said. "Keep me in the loop and we'll call it even."

If anyone else in the family knew by the time they left, it didn't show. Even to someone who was looking for it and might be a little too sensitive to clues. It wasn't like he and Cam hadn't talked about it. But he was pretty sure Cam wanted to be the one being asked, and he knew perfectly well that he was dating someone who liked surprises a lot better than he did. So he was doing his best to make sure it happened in a way Cam thought was cool.

He did ask Cam about the Blake thing that night, though. It wasn't until he was standing in the doorway of the computer room, already in his sweats while Cam took the time to read through his apparently unending list of e-mail, that he remembered what Blake had implied. They'd only been together three months? Please. If that was true, he wouldn't know which e-mails Cam was deleting, filing, or skimming without having to look.

"Hey," he said quietly, figuring the question would have the added bonus of getting Cam's attention. The only good thing about not officially living together was that he didn't have to wonder when Cam wanted sex and when he didn't. When he didn't, he went home. When he did, he stayed. Or he invited Hunter over. Simple as that.

Unfortunately, Cam had an irritating ability to make a decision and then get sidetracked before carrying it out. Hunter had put his computer in Blake's old room, and Cam tended to take it over when he was there. It was good, because he could get a lot of work done even when he didn't have his laptop, but it was also bad. Because he could get a lot of work done even when he didn't have his laptop.

"I'm almost finished," Cam promised, without looking up.

"I'm just curious," Hunter began, paying no attention to the brush-off. If he let Cam's apparent inattention discourage him, he'd be a very different person. "How long do you think we've been going out?"

"Three months and four days." Cam still didn't look up.

Hunter smiled to himself, because he hadn't expected that but on some level it didn't surprise him at all. That, right there, was exactly why he didn't care whether Cam pretended to ignore him or not. Cam hadn't even thought about it, and it actually took Hunter a moment to figure out that yeah, he was counting from the day of the wedding: August eighteenth to November twenty-second.

"So you don't think it's been longer than that?" he wanted to know. "I mean, we did a lot of stuff together before we started sleeping together."

"I'm not counting from the first time we slept together." He could imagine Cam rolling his eyes without seeing his face, and he smiled again. "I'm also not counting the time I spent pining over you while you were completely clueless. I'm counting from the day you first asked me out. As a boyfriend."

Hunter frowned at that. Had he technically asked Cam out that day? "Did I actually ask you out the day of the wedding?" he wanted to know.

Cam shrugged, and Hunter could see him logging out of his e-mail. Finally. "You asked me if I wanted to get dinner on the way home," he said over his shoulder.

Hunter couldn't help it. He laughed. "That's the most arbitrary thing I've ever heard," he declared. They had eaten on the road a hundred times before that, and the only difference had been that he hadn't told Cam he loved him in front of an entire reception hall until that day.

"You asked," Cam said. He sounded vaguely amused as he shut the computer down.

"Right," Hunter agreed, folding his arms and deliberately adjusting his position before Cam could turn around. The more casual he looked, the less time Cam would spend teasing him before coming to bed. Probably.

"Next question," Hunter added. "What's the plan for tomorrow?"

Cam was already getting up, giving him a quizzical look as he crossed the room and the screen darkened behind him. "Movie at three, Wind Academy at six-thirty?"

They were meeting Cam's dad for a pseudo-Thanksgiving dinner the day after. Hunter knew all about the logistics--it was the details he wanted to be clear on. Although, with the way Cam was looking at him right now...

"Your dad's gonna ask us about the demo," Hunter said. "Are we going?"

Cam shrugged. "I don't really care," he admitted, gaze wandering over Hunter's face. "I can make the time if you want to go."

So, yes. Going out with Cam was sometimes a little too much like dating a girl, and unfortunately most of those sometimes were whenever the academies came up in conversation. Cam pretended the Wind Academy didn't matter to him, and most of the time Hunter let him get away with it. That didn't mean he didn't notice how much the ninjas got to him.

"Cool," Hunter said, shifting against the doorframe. "I'd like to see it."

To his surprise, Cam smiled. "I'm not going back for Christmas."

Hunter blinked. "Okay."

"Okay," Cam repeated, reaching out to touch his face. "I just... I don't want you to think you have to fix this thing between me and my dad. I already see him once a month. That's plenty."

"Not trying to fix it," Hunter promised. Much. "Like I really want to spend Christmas at the academy anyway."

"How do you want to spend Christmas?" Cam asked. His fingers trailed idly over his jaw and down his neck. "Is Leanne going to come home?"

"No," he said, reluctant to shake his head and maybe make Cam stop. He'd learned a lot about the way Cam talked and the way he acted in the last five years, but when it came to foreplay, it really hadn't been that long. He still didn't know exactly what Cam found sexy and what he was just willing to tolerate.

He was pretty sure Cam thought it was cute to tease him because that's what they did when they were performing. Cam didn't seem to get that Hunter was looking for it then, that he noticed it then because he expected it. And of course it worked, because when he expected it, everything was teasing. But when he didn't expect it, nothing was.

"What about Blake?" Cam wanted to know. His hand was on Hunter's chest now, tracing casual designs on his bare skin. "You guys usually do a movie or something on Christmas."

"Yeah..." He swallowed. This conversation would degenerate fast if he pulled Cam closer than he already was. He straightened up instead, resting his hands on Cam's hips and threatening a kiss.

He didn't actually do it. Partly because Cam didn't look up, which meant that Hunter was looking at the top of his head while Cam watched his own fingers slide over the waistband of the sweats. And partly because he actually had some thoughts about Christmas, and the sooner they decided the more likely it was that he'd be able to go through with it.

"I think Blake's gonna be pretty busy this year," he muttered. "With Tori, and the family, and everything."

The Hansons had already invited him and Cam back for Christmas, and he knew Cam had been listening when he tried to politely avoid answering. It was awfully nice of them, but wow. He wasn't sure he could handle that many relatives with only a month in between visits.

It occurred to him, suddenly, that maybe Cam felt the same way about his dad.

"You told them we hadn't worked out our plans yet," Cam said quietly. His fingers slid under Hunter's sweats, thumbs hooking over the waistband to keep them from going too far, and he lifted his head.

Hunter tried not to look like he wanted to shove Cam down on the floor and tear his clothes off. He thought he mostly failed, but at least he had made the effort. "Well," he said, in what might be a halfway reasonable tone, "we haven't.

"And," he added, thinking that if he kept his sentences short he might be able to keep breathing, "I kind of want to... you know. Spend a holiday with just you. For once."

"Sounds good to me," Cam agreed, much too smoothly for someone who was that close. And getting closer. He was finally angling for a kiss.

"You mind going away?" Hunter murmured, lowering his head. "For Christmas?" He hesitated a breath away from Cam's face. "Like a vacation?"

Cam was staring at his mouth, and he knew what he was doing but he licked his lips anyway because how could he not? He heard Cam swallow in the silent room, and finally, there was that catch in his voice when he whispered, "Sounds good."

Hunter brushed his lips against Cam's, drawing back when Cam opened his mouth. He kissed the bottom lip, licked the upper one, and nuzzled around the corners without giving in to the almost overwhelming temptation yank Cam against him and claim his mouth the way Cam had claimed everything he was. He wasn't the only one who could tease.

Cam's breath was warm and damp against his skin, and he was really trying to get an actual kiss. He wasn't fighting the gentle mouthing by any stretch, but every couple of nibbles he would turn into it, encouraging full-out contact. Hunter just kept finding new parts of his mouth to kiss, because they were both tired but the more frustrated Cam was, the more interesting it would be.

What was really interesting, though, was that Cam's hands hadn't moved. He could easily have gotten his kiss. Hunter would have laughed if Cam buried his fingers in his hair and held his head still for a few seconds--or minutes--but he would have allowed it happily. He would have groaned if Cam wrapped his arms around him and ground against him, but it would have been just as effective. Teasing Cam would have suddenly been the last thing on his mind.

Instead, hands twisted against his skin: not holding onto him, but grasping the waistband of his sweats. He wasn't pulling on them, either, even if blood was pounding in Hunter's ears at the thought that he might. He was holding onto them, fingers clenching on the cloth... holding himself back.

It took about two seconds for Hunter to remember every time Cam had grabbed the headboard, the edge of the mattress, and on one memorable occasion his own t-shirt, to keep himself from reaching for Hunter. It was strange because Cam was usually pushy and demanding in bed, right up until the last moment. Hunter had kind of figured he scared himself off, that he was so controlled in the rest of his life that he had trouble letting go, even during sex.

But if Cam was a tease because he liked to be teased--which Hunter had never really gotten until tonight, since he didn't particularly appreciate it--then what if he was pushy and demanding for the same reason? Maybe his tendency to hold Hunter down was based on the assumption that he liked it, so everyone else must too. It sure seemed to be doing something for him now.

It was also turning Hunter on past any capability to resist, so he caught Cam's fingers and pulled them away from his skin. Cam let go immediately, obviously thinking that was all Hunter expected, and it wasn't easy to hang on to his hands. Especially when Cam's mouth won its forgotten war and pressed a hard kiss to his own, open and willing and very, very hungry.

Oh, god, he wanted that. He jerked away, his head grazing the doorframe as he stared at Cam's surprised expression. No way was he going to try explaining this. Not until he had a lot more evidence.

His fingers clenched on Cam's when he tried to pull them away again, and a frown flickered across Cam's face. "What--" he began.

Hunter leaned in and kissed his mouth, briefly, just once. "Let me," he whispered, kissing his cheek, his jaw, down to his neck. Cam's breath caught as he ran his tongue over the hollow of his throat. "Just let me..."

He didn't finish, sucking gently on the place where Cam would put his fingers to check his pulse, and he felt those same fingers clench hard on his. He lifted a hand to Cam's chest, taking the hand in his with it until he let go to press his palm against Cam's shoulder. Just a gentle pressure, a request for him not to turn as Hunter kissed his neck slowly, carefully slipping around behind him.

Cam held very still as that hand slid across his shoulder, collarbone, his other shoulder, and down his arm to take the place of the hand that had been holding his. Hunter's other hand came around to clasp his free hand, drawing it behind him as he continued to kiss the back of Cam's neck. Cam let him bring their hands together, disentangling fingers and stroking skin until Cam's hands were linked and Hunter's were resting on his wrists.

"Let me," Hunter breathed against his neck, and he felt Cam shiver. He blew across the damp skin and Cam's wrists flexed as he clenched his hands together. He even nodded, just slightly. Just enough to make Hunter let go and see what happened.

Cam didn't move.

Well, what do you know, Hunter thought, torn between awe and nerves. All it took was asking. And suddenly this was all, all on him. And all he really knew was that Cam was wearing too many clothes.

He put his hands on Cam's shoulders, pressing another kiss to the back of his neck as he slid his hands around to latch onto the buttons on his shirt. The collar was already undone, and he got the next two without much trouble. The further he went, though, the closer he had to get. He felt Cam's clasped hands against his stomach as he leaned into him, tugging up on his shirt to pull it free and continue his steady dismantling of the buttons.

Cam shifted in his arms, wrapped in an embrace that went all the way around him now instead of just over his shoulders, and he hadn't said a word since he'd put his hands behind his back. He was leaning against Hunter, head falling back on his shoulder when Hunter kissed his collarbone, arching his back as the fingers that were unbuttoning his shirt ghosted across his skin. He was breathing hard enough that Hunter couldn't keep from fumbling the buttons just a little.

He got the last one undone and slid his fingers up Cam's chest, pulling the shirt over his shoulders from the collar down. It wasn't even an intentional touch, just an incidental one, born of practical necessity: that was honestly the fastest way to get a button-down shirt off. Cam squirmed under his hands, a quiet moan stopping Hunter where he was.

Really? Because yeah, it worked for him. Cam's hands pressing into his gut were making him crazy, and he couldn't get enough of the taste of Cam's skin on his tongue. But Cam had a way higher sensuality threshold than he did, and maybe that was part of the reason he called the shots. By the time Cam was turned on enough to give in, Hunter was totally gone.

Not this time. This time, he pulled Cam's shirt down his arms and worked it through fingers that latched onto his the moment he touched them. When he let them go, they came back together like magnets, and he stared at Cam's back for a long moment. Really?

The question wasn't getting him anywhere--at least, not in his head. He touched Cam's shoulder, turning him around, and found his eyes closed. "Hey," he said, voice husky as he ran his hands down Cam's chest, and brown eyes opened and fixed on him. "Really?"

Cam stepped into him, his skin radiating heat as he pressed in for a kiss, and Hunter turned his head at the last possible moment. He wanted that kiss, wanted Cam's mouth on his like he wanted those hands on his body. But the frustrated sound Cam made when he was denied, needy and desperate, wasn't something he heard every day. And it made kind of a change, getting to undress Cam slowly for once.

He held onto him as he dropped his head to Cam's neck. He was trying to get control of himself, trying to kiss somewhere safe, somewhere that couldn't turn him on any more than he already was. But Cam was panting in his ear, pulling away, pulling back, and Hunter followed him without thinking.

Then Cam's body stiffened as he pressed up against the doorway. Hunter winced, sliding his arms around him in an effort to catch, to comfort, but Cam was holding his ground and shaking his head. His hands weren't together anymore. Hunter could feel them clutching the frame of the door instead, and he pulled back in surprise.

Cam groaned, bracing his head against the door. "Don't stop now," he pleaded. He was watching Hunter through half-lidded eyes.

That expression was too much. He leaned in and took his mouth without question. Tongue and breath tangled together, hot and wet and beautiful, Cam kissed like he did it for a living. Hunter was pretty sure he could get off on it, given enough time and assuming it didn't kill him first. There were no guarantees.

He was losing it, losing himself in it, trying to get as many of those kisses as he could before Cam pulled away, the only warning he would have before his lover started something even better and more likely to kill him... until he realized that, hey. Cam wasn't going anywhere. Cam was voluntarily keeping his hands to himself, ceding control to Hunter, and he could kiss as long as he wanted.

He chuckled, not startled by the idea so much as he was by surprised by how strange it seemed. Cam made a sound, opening his eyes and staring at him with the same expression that had urged him not to stop. He didn't move, though, and he didn't say a word.

"I just realized," Hunter murmured, even though he hadn't asked. He braced his arms against the frame above Cam's head, crowding closer without actually touching him. "I could pretty much kiss you all night long."

Cam swallowed, his gaze darting up and down Hunter's body. "I don't want you to," he whispered.

"Yeah?" Hunter leaned in, breathing into Cam's mouth, waiting, eager. He was this close to kissing him anyway, but he really wanted to know. "Gonna tell me what you do want?"

Cam lifted his eyes to Hunter's, and their mouths were so close Hunter could almost feel his lips curve into a smile. "Well," he said softly, breath puffing against Hunter's skin, "getting the rest of my clothes off would be a start."

If he was more coordinated, he would have tried to do it standing up. But belts and zippers weren't buttons, and messing them up would kill the mood really fast. So he went down on his knees, resting his head against Cam's stomach for a moment and breathing in. He felt Cam gasp as he licked experimentally, and he smiled. There were other ways to kiss.

He undid the belt buckle, holding onto both ends as he covered Cam's belly button with his mouth. He'd felt a little silly the first time he did it, but Cam didn't laugh. Cam stiffened at the touch of his tongue, holding utterly still as he kissed and licked and distracted his partner while he judged the distance from his hand to his chin. He let go of the belt with one hand, pulled his head back, covered the bulge in Cam's khakis and pushed gently.

Cam made a choked sound, shoving into him. Hunter kept his hand where it was, but he didn't push back. He shifted on his knees, uncomfortable, wondering what it would take to move this party to the bedroom.

"Just so you know," Cam gasped, straining into his hand and getting almost nothing for the effort, "that doesn't count... as clothes off."

Button, check. Zipper, check. He tugged the khakis down, pushed Cam against the door, and breathed hard on the damp spot in his briefs. Cam's hips jerked. He didn't go anywhere, but he tried. Involuntary, maybe, but whether it was or not it couldn't be fun holding himself that hard against a door frame.

"This would be a lot more comfortable," Hunter murmured, licking him once through his underwear. Cam made a noise that didn't sound like anything, and he continued, "On a mattress."

If his fingers weren't white where they were pinning Cam he could have put them to better use, but they were so it was tongue or nothing. He traced the outline through cotton, mouthing swollen heat and twitching sympathetically when Cam groaned. God, if he could get his hands free, Cam would get one and he'd get the other one.

"Bed," Cam said thickly. He didn't let go of the door. "Sounds good."

He rocked back on his heels, ready to stand up. But even when he let go Cam didn't move, relaxing against the frame and closing his eyes. Hunter hesitated. Then, before Cam could realize he wasn't moving he reached in, yanked his briefs down, and ran his tongue over everything he could reach.

Cam cried out, twisting against him, panting, not pushing, and Hunter wondered what the hell kind of control he had that he'd only thrust when he knew he couldn't. He stopped licking and started sucking, just to see what would happen. Cam's whole body shuddered, tense and tight and pulling away as hard as he could.

Holding himself back.

His hands found Cam's hips again, and he got a grip that was as firm as he could manage while kneeling on the floor and sucked harder. Cam shoved into his mouth. Or he tried to. He didn't get very far, pinned against the door as he was, and Hunter would have laughed if he could have because fuck, wasn't that just typical. Cam only let go when he knew someone else would take over.

Maybe knowing something about the way Cam acted was all he really needed to know for foreplay after all.

"Okay," he said roughly, pulling away, ignoring Cam's wordless protest as he pushed himself to his feet. "Bed now."

"Here's good too," Cam mumbled, watching through slitted eyes as Hunter let his sweatpants fall and kicked them off. He was hot and aching, craving touch, and for once Cam didn't seem any better off except that he still wasn't moving.

It was too tempting a possibility to resist. Hunter moved in again, bolder this time as he laid his hands on Cam's shoulders while he thrust his tongue into his mouth. Standing just far enough away that they shared heat without actual contact, hands and tongue and nothing else pressed up against his skin because Cam didn't even get that much. He ran his fingers over Cam's chest, his sides, his hips, hands sliding and grasping all at once, Cam's whole body restless and impatient under his touch.

Like he was the only one. This wasn't what he did: Hunter wasn't a tease, he was a bump and grind kind of guy and the waiting here was seriously destroying him. The only thing that kept him going was the noise Cam was making, gasping, grunting when Hunter's hands got so close and backed off, moaning into his mouth with every breath... giving every indication that for once, this was destroying him too.

Because Cam liked sex, he loved it, he went after it with a focused intensity that could--and did--bring Hunter to his knees. But he didn't beg for it. He hadn't. Not once. Despite the fact that Hunter pleaded with him regularly, shamelessly, this was still the closest Cam had ever gotten to losing control in return and he wasn't about to miss it.

"Bed," he panted, pulling Cam away from the door with both hands. He turned him around with one, dropping the other to rub himself hard and not caring if Cam heard him groan. God, fuck, he couldn't keep doing that and he didn't want to stop.

"That would be a lot sexier," Cam said, his voice husky and heavy as he let Hunter push him into the bedroom, "if I could see you doing it."

It occurred to him, not for the first time, that this idea would solve a lot of problems. Cam tended to drag it out; Hunter could get off twice in the amount of time he liked to spend torturing his partner. But Cam was better than that, reading him too easily to let it happen, and Hunter had to really push if he wanted it fast.

He wanted it fast now--right now, no waiting. But he wanted to see Cam beg more. So he caught Cam's hands when he started to turn, reaching for him, and Cam's fingers clenched on his as his arms relaxed. "You're kidding me," he muttered, guiding his hands carefully over his head and kissing Cam hard when he didn't resist.

"Seriously," he added, gritting his teeth as he pressed one leg between Cam's and shoved him back onto the bed. He swung up onto the bed himself, grinding against Cam's hip as he did it, and squeezing his eyes shut when Cam scrambled to keep his balance without his hands.

"You control every single thing in your life," Hunter growled, forcing himself to concentrate on forming a sentence instead of completely losing it to friction and vulnerability. He couldn't think, keep it together, and hold himself back from Cam all at the same time, and they were falling.

There was no fear, no adrenaline, the shock overwhelmed by desire as he surged against Cam and the body beneath his yielded, both of them tumbling into the mattress and Cam's breath escaped in a desperate gasp as his hips jerked upward. Hunter groaned, rolling over him, pinning his arms over his head and pressing the rest of him into the bed. The full-body contact erased everything else until the only way he could keep this from ending was to hold utterly still and that was the one thing Cam wouldn't do.

He got his knees under him and pushed himself up, sitting on Cam's stomach, holding him down, taking away his incentive. Cam didn't stop, writhing under him, trying for something he couldn't touch, and Hunter stared at him as his breath came in gasps that were so close to sobs he vaguely worried about hurting him. Cam was intense and passionate and emotional under his occasional act of apathy, but Hunter had never seen him fall apart like this.

"You get off on losing it," he whispered, still holding Cam's hands above his head as he leaned in for a kiss. Cam lifted his head, trying to meet him halfway, and Hunter pulled back, just avoiding his mouth.

Cam groaned, and his name in that tone of voice made Hunter's breath come faster. God. He could tease. He could totally tease for a reaction like this. He kissed Cam's jaw, his cheek, the corner of his mouth, and every movement contributed to the subtle shift against the tense body underneath him. Yeah... he could do this for a long time.

"Hunter," Cam gasped, his arms flexing against the grip that pinned them to the bed. "Hunter..." He turned into the kiss, fighting the evasion, chasing, pressing. His skin was flushed and sweaty and every muscle in his body seemed to be trembling. "Please."

"Please what?" Hunter asked roughly, running his tongue over that bottom lip. Please anything. Please just beg, because all that mattered now was the feel of their bodies pressed up against each other and he could make it so much better than it was. He could do that. Because it was his call, and he didn't even care, he just wanted to--

"Please," Cam panted, bucking against the restraint and going nowhere. "I want you to kiss me."

Hunter moaned, his mouth falling onto Cam's. He just wanted to hear him say I want. He just wanted to hear him say it, he just wanted to kiss, he just wanted. Frantically, feverishly, and Cam kissed like he had Hunter on his back in pillows and pajamas and they were just starting over. Hunter let go of his hands, fists clenched, elbows braced on either side of his head, arms starting to shake as he held himself where he was, because it didn't really matter what he did to Cam, did it. He was still Cam.

Then Cam was whispering please again, and that wasn't what Hunter was used to getting from him at all. "Please," Cam mumbled, knuckles white where he'd fisted his hands in the comforter above his head. "Please... touch me."

He lifted his head, his hands, his whole upper body as he sat back and tried to consider his lover instead of just the pressure aching for release. "No," Cam said suddenly, and there was a hunger in his eyes that was just as clear and in control as ever. "Do what you were doing before."

Hunter knew what he meant even before he added, "When you came into the bedroom behind me." Because Cam was too polite to say "jerk off" aloud, even here. Even now.

Hunter didn't care. He would have done himself, just like that, just because Cam asked, except that he was still the one on top and he was pretty sure that the fact Cam wasn't doing it himself meant he had more control than he thought. So the hand that went gratefully, automatically to obey hesitated, and he lifted one finger to his mouth instead and sucked carefully. Cam just stared, open-mouthed... completely still.

"Great," he managed, running the wet finger over a part of himself that really, really didn't think games were funny right now. But Cam was fucking staring at him. "Now you stop moving."

Cam whimpered as he rubbed with just one finger, barely touching, utterly unsatisfying... for him. For either of them, he thought, until he shifted for better reach and Cam hissed, harsh and loud. He rocked back again and Cam shoved forward and neither of them stopped at the first time, again--again--because there wasn't any reason to stop and there was every reason to keep going.

It wrung a strangled groan from him, Cam's broken voice saying his name and a hand not his own wrapped around him as warmth nudged him over and over from behind. He would have had to pull away to stop the flood of finally and please and oh god as the feeling paralyzed him, rushing and tingling and so, so much better than standing around talking about their anniversary or their plans or anything else he might have cared about in some other lifetime. He couldn't get free with Cam's hands back in play and even that might not have been enough so what did it matter?

He didn't care how hard he was pushing, how far he had lifted off the bed until trembling muscles started to win over the wash of pleasure and he sank down, slowly, long fingers still holding so tightly to him that they might have been guiding him into position. And when Cam cried out, jerking under him, he thought maybe they had been and he was lucky Cam knew what he was doing because he didn't have any idea. All he knew was that, ever since the first time, sex with Cam had been more complicated than he expected.

Only fair, he thought dazedly, staring down at the man he had walked away from time after time but never quite been able to let go of. Cam himself was more complicated than he expected, and had been as long as he'd known him. If their friendship was anything to go by, Hunter guessed there were parts of their current relationship he would never figure out.

He was okay with that. He didn't have to know everything about Cam, and he knew enough to know he probably never would. He just had to like him, to care what happened to him, to help him when he could. To love him.

And apparently, to push him around once in a while.

In return, Cam seemed to make a genuine effort not to confuse the hell out of Hunter, and that was really all he asked. Even if the effort wasn't always successful. Two facts inevitably made up for it: the fact that he was Cam, and the fact that he loved Hunter. The first might have been enough all on its own, but the second was a definite bonus.

He leaned down for a kiss when the body beneath his started to relax, but his arms didn't want to hold him and he was still breathing too hard to make it count. Cam kissed him back anyway, fingers whispering across his skin as Hunter rolled off of him, sprawling carelessly on top of the comforter. So Cam liked to be held down. Who knew?

"Bet you give a good lap dance," Cam said, out of the blue. His voice was husky and thoughtful, and Hunter turned his head to stare at him in surprise. What?

"Bet I've never had any reason to find out," he countered, amused beyond all reason. Cam had pulled a pillow under his head, so he could lie on his side and look at Hunter without having to hold himself up. Afterglow of the week and here he was, muttering about lap dances.

"I'm not advocating it as a career," Cam said, a smile playing at his expression. "I'm just saying."

Hunter couldn't resist the smile. He pulled himself up and crawled a little closer, leaning over Cam to try the kissing thing again. Still tired, but willing to put some effort into it if he was going to get compliments. Or whatever.

"Just saying what?" he murmured, pressing his mouth to Cam's. Hands slid up his arms, over his shoulders, caressing his skin and tracing his muscles and really, he'd missed Cam's hands. Maybe he could make up for it now.

Cam sighed into him, the sound dangerously close to a moan as he lowered himself down onto Cam's chest and lazily kissed his neck, his collarbone, anything that was close. He really didn't feel like moving right now, but Cam's fingers were digging gently into his shoulders, massaging every pressure point he could reach. That deserved some return.

"I'm just saying," Cam repeated after a moment, "that I volunteer as a test subject. If you ever want to practice."

Hunter chuckled, licking a careful stripe under Cam's collarbone and pressing kisses all along it. He could feel Cam's heartbeat under his ear, Cam's hands working on his upper back now, and for a long time he was content to just lay there, barely moving. There really wasn't anywhere better to be.

Except that he was this close to falling asleep, and he was really thirsty. Finally, with a reluctant groan, he pushed away from Cam and made himself sit up. Cam's eyes were closed, though they opened when he moved, and only then did he realize his shoulder massage had stopped a while ago.

"Thirsty," he muttered, by way of explanation. "You want anything?"

"Mmm." Cam lifted a hand to rub his eyes, nodding as he did it. "Water."

"You got it," Hunter said gruffly. He rolled off the other side of the bed, running a hand over his chest and shifting awkwardly as he stood up. "Washcloth?"

Cam made a sound that was probably negative, followed by a sigh. "I'll get up." And he did, yanking the comforter off of Hunter's bed before he could protest. "You should get a thinner top blanket for your bed," he muttered. "I don't think you're supposed to wash this every week."

Hunter had to smile. "It'd be less conspicuous at the laundromat, anyway."

Cam sighed again. "There are some days," he said, not like it was true, "when I'm glad I don't live with you."

"Most days," Hunter teased, "I can't tell the difference."

Cam didn't look at him, but Hunter could see him smile anyway.

It was funny, Hunter thought later, as he turned off the light in the computer room and hit the bedroom light switch on his way back to bed. He'd never had sex with the lights on until Cam, since really, what was there to see? They all knew where the important parts were.

But Cam just seemed to expect that the lights would stay on, and Hunter had never bothered to ask why. It wasn't like he wanted to miss anything. The strange thing was that he found the more he could see, the less he needed to. He knew what Cam's expression looked like even when he turned away, now.

Maybe it was the lights, or maybe it was time. Maybe it was just him and Cam. Whatever it was, he liked it.

Cam was gone when he woke up the next morning, which didn't surprise him at all. He'd said something about papers, or research, or something. Probably both. The crimson tumbler was still there next to the bed, half-full, but the green one was gone--already in the drainer, Hunter found, when he stumbled into the kitchen. Along with a note on the table that said Pick me up at two-thirty.

He smiled to himself. It didn't take half an hour to get to the movie theater, and he wasn't the one who was habitually late on academy days. Cam must be overcompensating for dinner with his dad already.

He got out some cereal and stood by the kitchen window, looking down at the street for a few minutes. He couldn't help wondering about Cam's new and interesting preference for restraint during sex. He'd been complaining a lot about his thesis work lately... psychological reaction to the extra control required by his academic work? Or just more trust, letting Hunter past symbolic defenses?

When had he started to psychoanalyze everything Cam did, he wondered? Who said there had to be a reason, anyway? Hell, who said it was even a new thing?

Hunter toyed with his spoon, considering. He'd figured last night that Cam did what he liked to have done, so maybe that explained his domineering tendency. Or maybe his other lovers had liked it and he had just developed a habit. Jules could definitely go either way. And who knew what girls did in bed, so. It was possible.

Actually... he frowned, remembering the breakup with Sage. It probably wasn't any one thing, Cam had said. But it might have been a combination of the fact that I screamed your name, and she's not deaf.

Even after that admission, Hunter had been vaguely skeptical. Cam screaming his name was the weak point: it just didn't seem plausible. He'd had sex with Cam plenty of times, and he knew Cam didn't scream. Names or anything else.

After last night, though, it suddenly seemed a little more believable.

Still. Sage? Really? She came off as sort of... well. He remembered her yelling about being dominated the first day he met her. He had to grin at the idea now. Maybe he should talk to her, catch up with her again or something.

It was a good thing he didn't give that plan much thought before putting it into action. It was mostly a whim, and even if he had her old phone number it wasn't like he expected it to work. That had been two years ago. The only reason he still had the number at all was because he'd saved it to his cell and immediately forgotten about it.

He was startled and kind of embarrassed when the call clicked over to a cheerful recording that informed him, "Sage is busy! Or sleeping. Or possibly ignoring you. But she's a Leo, so chances are good that if you leave a message she'll call you back."

"Hey," he said, not quick enough to hang up before the beep signaled the abrupt end of her message. "It's Hunter. Uh, Hunter Bradley. Cam's--Cam's friend, from a couple of years ago?"

Why was he calling her, anyway? He had no idea what to say.

"I just, uh..." He shrugged awkwardly. She'd probably be amused by the truth, when it came right down to it. "Well, Cam and I hooked up, and he told me what happened--you know, with you. Finally."

His lips quirked, and he added, "You were right, you know. I should have just asked him instead of trying to cheer him up. The last two years would've been... I dunno. Different.

"Anyway," he said, shaking his head. "I figured you might laugh at the way it turned out. I'll, uh--I guess I'll catch you later."

It occurred to him after he hung up that he hadn't left his phone number, but seriously, what reason did she have to call him back? He didn't know why he'd called her in the first place. Except that he was suddenly and irrationally jealous of someone Cam hadn't slept with in years.

She'd probably had his callback number as soon as the phone rang. If it mattered, she could get in touch with him. It didn't, but she could. If she wanted to.

He washed his dishes, put on clothes that he could at least answer the door in, and turned on the computer. Black Friday was not a day for venturing out into the world, as far as he was concerned. A movie, okay--movies didn't really count as "the world," after all--but roads, restaurants, and anything remotely resembling retail were definitely Not Options. People were fucking crazy the day after Thanksgiving.

He went online, though, because he had promised Cam a certain t-shirt for Christmas and hey, free shipping. The internet was like a giant Easy Button. And it wasn't like getting Cam stuff was a chore. He could do it all day.

Okay, he could do it for maybe five minutes. Then he got distracted by ski conditions and room rates and holiday discounts, which was like buying stuff for Cam except it was really for him. But Cam had agreed... at least in principle. And if he didn't ask, then Hunter was perfectly willing to surprise him.

The phone rang right after lunch. Or at least, the time lunch would have been if he'd bothered to make anything, which he hadn't. He was munching on a cold pop-tart when "We Are the Champions" started to play in the kitchen. He pushed the desk chair back and got up, taking his pop-tart with him while he went looking for the source of a ringtone Cam had obviously changed again. He really needed to get his own cell.

When he found his phone, he also found Sage's name on the display.

Well, he had called her first. He opened the phone, swallowed the rest of the pop tart, and said, "Hey."

"Hi Hunter!" It could have been two years ago for all her energetic greeting had changed. "How are you!"

"Hey Sage," he said, a smile tugging at his lips. Her enthusiasm was, as always, contagious. "How's it going."

"Great!" And of course, she treated it like a question, not a greeting. "Did you say you and Cam finally got together? How long did it take?"

"August," he said briefly. "My little bro's wedding."

"August of this year?" She sounded skeptical.

"Shut up," he told her, because he could. She would laugh.

"What's wrong with you!" she exclaimed. Laughing. "A year and a half! Congratulations!"

"Yeah, thanks," he said, smile widening into a reluctant grin. "I figured you'd laugh."

"Was it him?" she wanted to know. "Did he snap? Or did you finally get a clue?"

"Oh no," he told her. "He dragged me into bed with him and I still didn't get it. If he hadn't had the bad luck to wake me up when he said 'I love you', we could still be right where we were before."

"Ouch." She sounded wry. "How did that go?"

"Pretty much as bad as you're thinking," he admitted. "Luckily the freaking out only lasted a few hours."

"During the wedding?" she wanted to know.

He cleared his throat. "Yeah. My bro still hasn't let me forget it." And it seemed like the perfect moment, so he added, "He'll probably get revenge at my wedding."

"Are you planning one?" she demanded.

"Not yet," he said lightly. "Maybe next year."

"What!" He could only imagine what kind of expression went with her exclamation. "Seriously? You're getting married?! I hate you! You just made me so depressed!"

He didn't know what to do except laugh. "You're really kind of weird, Sage. I hope you know that."

"I can't believe you're getting married!" she shouted at him over the phone. "My old boyfriend is getting married! If I hang up and call you back, will you say you're joking?"

"Um, no." He grinned at the way she groaned. "But don't tell Cam, okay? I haven't proposed yet, and it's supposed to be a surprise."

"Yeah, I'm sure he has no idea," she shot back. "When are you going to do it?"

"Couple of weeks," he answered. "I'm still working it out, and I want to talk to his dad first. But I'm planning on the eighth."

"It's two weeks away and you're making plans that involve family members?" He heard her snicker. "He's so on to you."

"Yeah," he admitted, smiling a little. "He probably is. But come on. If we were both clueless, we never would have gotten together, so."

"It's the thought that counts," she agreed. "That's so great, Hunter. Good for you guys."

"Yeah, hey," he said, pausing. What the hell. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure." She sounded curious. "What's up?"

"Well... this is kind of weird," he told her. "So, you know. Tell me if I should mind my own business."

"Oh, I will," she said with a laugh. "But seriously, do I sound like the kind of person who has secrets?"

"It's about Cam," he said awkwardly.

"Okay," she agreed.

"I, uh... well, I never thought of him as... kinky."

"Kinky?" she repeated. "You mean sex?"

"Yeah." What else was kinky?

"Ah." She sounded amused. "Surprised?"

"Well, should I be?" he countered. He couldn't help feeling a little defensive. "He didn't--he didn't tell me. It's not like he... you know, asked for anything. So did I just, I dunno, miss it, or... or what?"

"Are we talking about the bondage thing?" she wanted to know. "Cause I'll totally have this conversation with you, but I want to be sure of what we're talking about first."

"It's not a big deal," he said hastily. "I was just curious, okay? Forget I asked."

"It is a big deal," she insisted. "It matters to him. Or it did, when we were together. I'm really curious what made you think of it if he didn't ask," she added, a grin in her voice, "but you'll notice I'm not asking."

He wanted to know if Cam had asked her... and if so, why Sage and not him? But instead all he said was, "Hey, I can be kinky."

"Hey," she replied, and he couldn't tell if she was making fun of him or not. "Don't you think it's ironic that you called me about this on the day after Thanksgiving?"

He raised his eyebrows. "Not really." Then he thought about it, and he changed his mind. "Oh. Yeah. Actually."

He could hear her sigh. "That was such a good morning. Too bad you got all the credit for it."

He could let that go, or he could suck it up and ask. Most of the time, he'd rather just keep his mouth shut, but if he didn't ask her then he'd have to ask Cam. "Got any tips?"

It wasn't that he didn't want to ask Cam, he told himself. He did. He was going to. He just... well, there had to be some reason Cam hadn't shared with the class before this. Right?

"No knots," Sage told him. "Don't use knots."

He blinked. "Sorry?"

"He doesn't like knots," she said, and he could practically hear the shrug in her voice. "Bad memories, he said, but that was all I could get out of him. Bows are fine."

Comprehension dawned, and he blurted out, "Oh," before he could think. Then, awkwardly, "Yeah. That makes sense."

"Does it?" She sounded curious again.

She wasn't asking, but he figured he owed her. Several times over. "We, uh... he got into some trouble, a while back. I mean, we both did--"

Unfortunately, there really wasn't any other way to explain their Ranger history. "There were some guys after us, and he, uh... he got tied up. A couple of times."

"Oh." She sounded uncharacteristically solemn. "Bad?"

"He got out on his own, the first time," Hunter muttered. Because they had been too slow to figure out what was going on. "The next time I got to him first."

"Together they fight crime," Sage remarked. Now the hint of amusement was back in her voice, and it made him smile a little.

"Yeah," he agreed. "Something like that, I guess."

"Well, that explains the bows," she declared. "You know how to do a basic sub bow?"

If she had assumed he had any idea what she was talking about, he wouldn't have corrected her. But she didn't, and he didn't. So he fessed up. "Not a clue."

"Um..." She hesitated for the first time. "Well, you can't do it on yourself, but you can get out of it on your own if you need to. You want me to describe it for you?"

"Yeah," he said, drumming his fingers on the countertop. Because this day wasn't weird enough already. "I can't believe I'm talking to Cam's former girlfriend about sex."

"I can't believe I have to tell Cam's current boyfriend how to tie a sub bow," she retorted, laughter in her voice. "I think he's been holding out on you!"

Yeah. Hunter was starting to think that too. "Fine," he told her. "You get equal points for weirdness, then. Bonus points if you actually tell me how to do it."

"Done!" she agreed cheerfully. "Have him put his hands together, palm to palm. Like praying. Give yourself, I don't know... about a foot of slack on either end, and wrap the rest of the rope around his wrists.

"If his hands are actually flat against each other, you won't be able to tie it too tightly," she added. "When he relaxes his hands, it'll be loose no matter what you do. He knows that, obviously. I could always tell what kind of mood he was in from how close he let his wrists get while I was tying him up."

Hunter set his jaw, biting back the urge to tell her to keep the personal parts to herself. He had asked for it, hadn't he? It wasn't like he didn't know they'd had sex. Just because he hadn't known the details...

"So just wrap the ends around the rope between his wrists," she was saying. "You know, in opposite directions, so you can tie them. In a bow," she clarified. "If you put it at the bottom, it doesn't get in the way as much."

When she stopped, it took him a second to realize he was supposed to say something. "Do you really just have rope lying around?" he asked without thinking.

Her tone was amused when she replied, "Do you have condoms lying around?"

Right. Stupid question. It didn't keep him from telling her, "Not anymore." Before she could answer he added, "I get the point, though. Rope, wrists, bow. Got it."

"It doesn't have to be rope," she said unexpectedly. "I have some cool leather handcuffs. I could give you a website address."

"Leather handcuffs," he repeated. See, he really didn't need to know that about her. Except that they were talking about his boyfriend, and, while vaguely disturbing and wildly embarrassing, it was also kind of interesting.

"He likes leather," she was saying. "Not in the regular harnesses and collar way, just in the cutely innocent 'likes the way it feels' way."

That one he knew. "Training uniform," he muttered.

"What did you say?" Sage asked.

Hunter cleared his throat. "He used to do martial arts," he offered. "He had--has a leather training uniform."

"Oh, you know all the secrets, don't you," Sage said with a laugh. "I'm so glad you called!"

"Yeah," he said with a half-smile. "Me too."

He let her give him the website address, and he promised to tell her when they picked a wedding date. He stopped just short of actually inviting her, partly because talking about weddings and bondage at the same time seemed kind of weird--especially when it involved a guy they had both dated--and partly because the guy in question might have something to say about inviting former girlfriends. He was pretty sure Cam didn't have any reason to invite, say, Charlie, but if he did Hunter would want to know about it beforehand.

By the time he got off the phone with her he could pretend that it was almost time for the movie. It wasn't, but he had the day off and he didn't need much of an excuse to do nothing. Except, you know. Look up Sage's website and wonder exactly how much Cam hadn't told him.

Finally, though, he changed his clothes, grabbed his keys, and went off to pick up the lover he had known for almost five years now without hearing a single mention of leather handcuffs. Without even thinking of it. Because, come on... Cam? He didn't even drink when he could avoid it.

He was starting to wonder about those pot brownies Cam and Sage used to joke about, though. At least, he had always assumed they were joking. Not that Sage didn't kind of fit the stereotype, but since Cam had explicitly referred to people who smoked pot as "druggies" in her presence, Hunter had figured he kept her on the straight and narrow.

Now he thought pot brownies might explain a few of the things she seemed to know about Cam.

He didn't mention his new theory to Cam. He also didn't mention Sage, handcuffs, or anything about the night before. This was mostly because Cam was--maybe predictably--late, necessitating much mockery about spillover effects on the way to the theater, and followed by complicated excuses that Hunter went to a great deal of trouble to ignore. Then it was because the movie was kind of funny, causing them to actually watch it while they were in the theater, and when they left they took what Cam insisted was not a shortcut and that was the end of any other potential discussion.

The road they took didn't seem to take any more or less time than any of the roads they usually took. Cam insisted that this disqualified it as a shortcut, but Hunter didn't think he was giving it enough of a chance. What if there was traffic on the main roads?

What if there was bad weather, Cam countered? And what did they need a shortcut for, anyway? They were going to get there almost an hour early.

This was true, and it kind of surprised Hunter. He had expected Cam to want to stop by the apartment after the movie, or do some errands, or almost anything except go straight from the theater to the ninja academy. An hour early.

He worried that this was going to throw off whatever plan Tori had put into motion for him this morning: he had told her to let Sensei know that he wanted to talk to him privately, and to see if she could find someone to help get Cam out of the way. Hunter was pretty sure that it would get back to Cam if he made a special trip to the Wind Academy, but the only time he saw Sensei Watanabe under normal circumstances was when he went to dinner with Cam. Hence the ruse, which they were probably going to screw up by arriving early.

It didn't take long for him to realize that he shouldn't have underestimated Tori. It happened so smoothly that he didn't even get that it was part of the plan until after they'd been separated. First Nena just happened to catch sight of them as they wandered past the end of her advanced samurai class, and she waved them over. She introduced them both to Cale Parsons, a lanky teenager who reminded Hunter a little of Cam when he was teaching classes at the university: confident and enthusiastic and startlingly outgoing.

The kid was also, unless Hunter totally missed his guess, gay.

When he casually mentioned Ninja Ops, though, Hunter suddenly placed him. This was the kid who had built the cloaking field around the Wind Academy's new weapons hut. Just built it, like people did crazy things like that every day. Just like Cam. And yeah, it was pretty clear that Cam recognized him too, and was happy to talk shop with him for at least the hour until they were supposed to meet Sensei.

The three of them were heading in the general direction of Ninja Ops when Shane appeared out of nowhere. He made no excuses, seemed annoyingly glad to see Hunter, and told them that he'd heard they were early and wanted a ranking Thunder ninja to help him with his demo students. Completely unaware, Hunter made no effort to hide his skepticism. He hadn't been active at the academies since the Rangers disbanded, and it was pretty unlikely that anyone Shane had in his demo would even know who he was.

On the other hand, the alternative was to listen to the computer geeks completely ignore him for the next hour. Or longer, since he could see Cam using this as yet another excuse to put off meeting his dad for dinner. Just because he'd gotten to the academy early didn't mean he couldn't find other diversions. Apparently with the help, intentional or otherwise, of every samurai student on campus.

So Hunter let Shane drag him off. "You're early," the air ninja told him as he led Hunter off across the grounds. "Tor said you wouldn't be here until six-thirty, and after the last couple times..." He shrugged significantly. "I figured seven at the earliest."

It was Tori's name that did it, and Hunter almost stopped where he was. "You talked to Tori?" he demanded.

Shane scoffed. "Why else did Nena grab Cam the second she saw him? Cale wasn't even supposed to be here this afternoon. And dude, I hope you don't think I have any Thunder students for you to whip into shape. Sensei was gonna meet you at the south gate, but I dunno if he's back from the remote practice areas yet."

Hunter blinked. This was an elaborate plan. "Okay," he said. "Uh, thanks."

Shane grinned at him. "You didn't think you were gonna put Tori in charge of this and have it be small, did you?"

"I guess I shouldn't have," Hunter muttered, shaking his head. "She's really good."

"Yeah, I heard she's going with you to pick out the ring." Shane was smirking now. "That her idea, or yours?"

"Mine," Hunter said, eyeing him. "I don't feel like walking into a jewelry store alone. And at least she knows Cam."

"You're a brave man," Shane said, clapping him on the shoulder. It was probably as much as he could expect in the way of congratulations from Shane, and frankly, he'd take it. His relationship with Shane had been strained by association ever since Cam had decided the ninja teacher was an extension of his father and had stopped talking to him. They were on better terms now, which was to say they usually managed to be civil to each other in group situations, but they certainly didn't seek each other out. Being with Cam meant that Hunter didn't see much of Shane.

Sensei wasn't there when they got to the south gate--not much of a surprise, given the time. He'd figured he and Shane might be waiting a while when a hawk cried overhead and Shane looked up automatically. "Hey, he got back pretty quick," Shane observed. "Must've been showing off for the students again."

The hawk dove toward them, actually ducking through the gate before it came in to land, and Hunter grinned. Yeah, showing off sounded about right. The moment the hawk touched the ground, its form flashed into that of Sensei Watanabe and Shane bowed respectfully. Hunter had kind of gotten out of the habit--Cam had never done it, and Hunter had started to follow his example without really noticing it--but with Shane next to him he managed a belated bow.

Sensei returned the gesture solemnly. "Good evening," he greeted them.

"Sensei," Shane said before Hunter could answer. "I'll see you guys later, okay?" He was already backing away, shooting Hunter a very obvious thumbs-up as he went. Hunter barely acknowledged it before he was gone.

"Well, I guess his job is done," Hunter remarked, exchanging glances with Sensei.

"Indeed." Cam's father seemed mildly amused, which was probably a good sign. "I suspect Tori gave him very specific instructions about where he was supposed to be, and for how long."

"Yeah, she really pulled this off," Hunter agreed. "I didn't expect her to be quite so... creative."

"I have found," Sensei said, smiling slightly, "that it's extremely unwise to underestimate a former Power Ranger."

"Yeah," Hunter said with a rueful nod. "I hear that."

Sensei turned a little to one side, and Hunter recognized the invitation for what it was. He fell into step beside the head of the Wind Academy, wondering exactly what Tori had told Cam's dad about this plan. Or more specifically, about the reason for the plan. He was guessing that even if she had neglected some of the details, Sensei could pretty much fill in the blanks on his own.

"I believe your arrival is somewhat earlier than you had planned," Sensei said after a moment. "If surprise is the goal, then I'm curious how you managed this without alerting Cam to the uniqueness of the situation."

Yeah, Hunter thought. He'd definitely filled in the blanks.

"It was his idea," he said with a shrug. "We went to see a movie this afternoon, and I figured he'd want to do something else before we came here. But he didn't. So."

"I see." Sensei sounded like he was smiling. "So it's likely that he's already aware of the situation. He's actively working to assist you in your efforts."

Hunter rolled his eyes. "You're not the only one who thinks so. Sage--his old... one of our old friends made fun of me for trying to keep it a secret at all."

"It seems to me," Sensei commented, "that there are few things my son enjoys more than a puzzle to be figured out."

Hunter paused, considering that. "I didn't think about it that way," he admitted. "Huh."

Cam does what he wants to have done, he thought. He liked a good mystery. Was that why he'd never said anything? Or was he reading too much into it?

"You're attempting to keep this secret, then," Sensei was saying, "because you believe that Cam would prefer to be surprised?"

Hunter shrugged. "I don't like to be surprised," he said, "and to be honest? I'm probably not a good enough liar to pull a fast one on Cam. But he likes a good show."

"Indeed." Sensei sounded kind of neutral about that, like he wasn't sure it was true, but Hunter figured it was as good an opening as he was going to get.

He took a deep breath and just got it over with. "I want to marry him, Sensei."

The reply was a little slower in coming than he would've liked. "You hardly need my permission."

Hunter frowned. "You mean you're not going to give it."

"Does it really matter?" Sensei asked gently. He was gazing off at the horizon, not seeming to expect an answer.

"Look, if you have objections, I'll listen," Hunter said bluntly. "It won't keep me from proposing. But you're family--his family, at least, even if you don't think of me that way. I care what you think."

Sensei was quiet long enough that Hunter had time to worry about how awkward dinner was going to be if they ended up arguing over this. It was possibly not his best idea ever to bring it up before their monthly gathering instead of after. Especially if Cam really did know what was going on. He would guess what had happened, and that would just be a bad scene.

"I think," Sensei said at last, "that you've been very good to my son for a long time. I think he has considered you more than just a friend for most of that time."

Startled, Hunter glanced at him, but Cam's father didn't return the look.

"I believe these are the things that matter to him," he continued. "I hope they are things that matter to you as well."

Hunter frowned again. "Cam matters to me," he said. "I don't really care about the things so much."

He saw Sensei nod out of the corner of his eye. "This is either a wise answer or a very foolish one," he remarked. "I suppose time will tell."

Hunter managed to suppress a sigh. Cryptic ninja insight was less annoying when he wasn't worrying about being tricked or insulted in the middle of it. Not that his own family's advice came with any guarantees, but since they weren't the ones he was talking to right now they didn't seem so bad.

"The academy is important to Cam," Hunter told him. "I'd like to propose here. If that's all right."

This was greeted by another long silence. Finally Sensei said, "I assume that if you planned to do it privately, you would not feel the need to consult me."

This time, Hunter did sigh, because he was going to be the bad guy all evening, wasn't he. "I really wouldn't," he agreed deliberately. "But like I said. Cam likes a show."

"I have no objection," Sensei assured him, a little more quickly than Hunter had expected. "What do you have in mind?"

Hunter told him, and to his surprise, Sensei seemed totally willing to accommodate him. The planning went better than the asking for permission had, and they managed to figure out most of the details before their walk took them within sight of Sensei's office. Where Cam was hanging around outside, waiting for them.

"The time," Sensei noted very quietly, "is six twenty-one."

They weren't quite in hearing distance, and Hunter smiled to himself. "Yeah," he said. Cam hadn't arrived early for dinner with his dad in more than a year. "He's totally on to me."

"Very little gets past him," Sensei murmured in return. "Nonetheless, the effort does you credit."

Hey, a compliment. Hunter grinned, and he knew Cam caught the expression as they headed his way. He didn't say anything about them arriving together, although he did ask casually about the Thunder students Hunter had supposedly been talking to. "Shane's got it all under control," Hunter said, waving it off.

Cam didn't push. Sensei acted like everything was normal too, and that went a long way toward making dinner smoother. Cam's dad even remembered to invite them to the demo, despite the fact that Hunter's plans had already made it obvious they were coming. "We'll be here," Cam agreed.

Unfortunately, his dad followed that question with an inquiry about their Christmas activities, and Cam got noticeably stiffer. He muttered something about being really busy between now and the end of the semester. Normally, Hunter wouldn't have gotten involved: Cam had made it clear that his relationship with his dad wasn't any of Hunter's business, and Hunter didn't really want to piss of Sensei right now. But they'd talked about this, and he was pretty sure he knew the right answer.

"We're gonna take a vacation when Cam finishes with school," Hunter said. "You know, get away from everything for a while."

Sensei accepted this news with apparent equanimity, but Cam shot him a grateful look. So, not the bad guy to everyone. That was a good thing. It made dinner less awkward. For him. And by the time they left he didn't think he'd done anything to make Sensei want to deliberately sabotage the demo, so points for politeness.

That night, though, Cam fell apart. It wasn't a total shock. He didn't handle the holidays well, and winter had always been the time when stuff in his life seemed to go to pieces. Hunter kind of figured, once he'd realized what Cam wasn't telling him, that maybe he tended to break up, come out, or fight back in the months around New Years because that was when Hunter was around. And hey, maybe by now it was a habit.

He was fine with it. He knew by now what stuff he could fix and what stuff Cam wanted him to stay the hell away from, so when Cam went off on family in general, his dad in particular, and stupid holiday gatherings as part of an apparently miscellaneous category that had been triggered by but wasn't limited to his dad's question about Christmas, Hunter fed the cat for him and put away the dishes he'd left out and listened with half an ear. It wasn't anything new, and by tomorrow he'd be over it.

It did mean, though, that Cam was restless and angry for the rest of the evening. Hunter knew better than to try to calm him down. He switched Cam's TV to ESPN, kept the volume low, and paid only superficial attention to his lover while Cam pretended to code or write or surf the internet for all Hunter knew. Finally he got tired of sulking alone and came over to do it on the couch, which Hunter was totally fine with, especially if he didn't talk.

He didn't talk. He did fall asleep. Hunter let the program finish before he turned it off and got up. "Hey," he whispered, one hand on Cam's shoulder. "Time to wake up and go to sleep."

Cam muttered something unintelligible. He did eventually let himself be bullied into bed. Hunter got the side closer to the door, which he had once tried to figure out: why did he get the door side at Cam's place but not at his? It was the opposite side of the bed from the one he slept on in his apartment, regardless of where the door was, and he wasn't sure if that was odd or not. Maybe no one else noticed things like that.

It was one of the things he wondered about on the rare occasions when Cam fell asleep before him. It was weird, but he couldn't really think when Cam was awake. At least not in bed. And Hunter tended to fall asleep fast--something he'd always taken for granted until he started sleeping with Cam, who could lie there long enough for the "sleep" function on his radio to turn off and have to be restarted--so he didn't spend a lot of time on topics like that.

The next night, Cam really did seem to be doing work, so Hunter left him alone and went out with Dustin and Blake. Cam came over on Sunday after the game, though, and Hunter made pancakes for dinner. It was, all things considered, one of the longest Thanksgiving breaks he could remember.

The week afterward went by ridiculously fast by comparison. The highlights were sex with Cam and ring-shopping with Tori. He took an afternoon off from the Co-Op so he could do the shopping without alerting Cam that he had plans. Nights were less structured. And if Cam was almost constantly stressed about the end of the semester lately, it didn't seem to translate into a lack of interest in sex.

Good stress relief, Hunter decided. He hadn't quite gotten up the nerve to take Sage's advice--yet--but he'd found several creative ways to pin Cam down regardless. It was a game he looked forward to, and Cam sure wasn't complaining.

The ring-shopping was a lot less fun, but he thought the results were pretty good. He made the mistake of not specifying the ring recipient's gender when he introduced himself, and the first jewelry store employee automatically assumed he was buying for Tori. His sister-in-law got a total kick out of it, but the saleswoman turned red and got all flustered when he explained that he was actually planning to propose to his boyfriend.

"I'm sorry, I'm new here," she babbled, her blush making funny patterns on her cheeks. "I don't know much about men's engagement rings. Let me get someone who can help you." Hunter wondered how long she was gonna last in sales if gay people freaked her out.

Tori was not hiding her skepticism. "This might not be the best place," she said, loudly enough that she could be overheard and quietly enough that it wasn't completely obvious she was trying to be. "You want to try somewhere else?"

"Nah, it's fine," he muttered. He really didn't want to make a big deal out of this.

"Your call," Tori said with a shrug. "You can do a lot of comparison shopping online, you know."

He had to grin. "Believe me," he told her, "that's how I'm doing all my Christmas shopping this year. Which, hey, that reminds me," he added, giving her a companionable nudge. "What d'you want?"

She laughed. "I dunno. I think Blake's probably got the electronics end covered."

"Gift cards are always nice," Hunter reminded her.

"You tell me what to get you and Cam," she said, "and I'll come up with something easy you can get me."

"Deal," he said, holding out his hand. She slapped it without missing a beat, fingers curling around his affectionately before she let go. "I'll e-mail you by the end of the week."

"Hello." A man's voice interrupted without seeming to intrude, and Hunter hated that kind of salesperson solicitousness. Tori turned with him, and they found a new employee smiling across the counter at them. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Yeah," Hunter said, trying not to sigh. He'd already been through this once. "I'm looking for an engagement ring. Not for her," he added, tipping his head toward Tori. "She's already married. It's for my boyfriend."

"Congratulations," the man replied warmly, and the way he said it made Hunter wonder if they had a gay staff member that they sent out to deal with all their queer customers. "You must be so excited."

Hunter exchanged glances with Tori. "Actually, I'm mostly worried I'm going to screw it up," he said bluntly. "He's a cutting edge kind of guy, but he gets all traditional on me at the weirdest times."

"I think every person who comes through here with plans to propose, whether they're a man or a woman, worries about doing something wrong," the man behind the counter told him. "I know it took me months to work up the courage to propose to my girlfriend. The thing to keep in mind is that what they're going to say is more important than how you ask."

Hunter regarded him with grudging appreciation. So, not gay, then. Probably. And a little more than another faceless salesperson. "I'm Hunter," he offered, nodding to his partner in crime as he added, "This is Tori." He held out his hand over the counter. He thought someone he was going to buy an engagement ring from could shake his hand.

"Nice to meet you, Hunter." The man shook his hand. "I'm Shel." He shook Tori's hand too, smiling as he greeted her by name. "Tori, a pleasure. Are you a friend of the couple, or a family member?"

"Both," she said, giving Hunter a fond look. "Friend first. Then I married Hunter's brother, so. Now I'm family."

"Couldn't ask for better," Hunter said, and Tori beamed at him.

"That's wonderful," Shel agreed, smiling at them both. "So, can I assume that since the other groom-to-be isn't here, you're planning on a surprise proposal?"

Hunter glanced sideways at Tori and found her smirking back at him. He rolled his eyes. "That's the idea," he told Shel. "But pretty much everyone who knows my boyfriend figures the secret's already out."

"Including you?" Shel suggested, looking from one of them to the other.

"I'm the first to admit it," Hunter assured him. "He totally knows. Probably can't fool him to save my life."

"Well, there are advantages," Shel pointed out. "The surprise can be romantic, sure, but worrying about the answer can be pretty nerve-wracking. At least when you know your boyfriend knows what you're doing, you don't really have to wonder what he's going to say."

Oh, he wondered. He suspected Cam might be formulating clever comebacks already, except that he'd never seemed to need that much time. "Yeah," he said aloud. "I guess."

"Do you know what you're looking for in a ring?" Shel suggested. "Or would you like to look at a few first to see what we have, and what we can design, and then narrow it down from there?"

"Oh, do you do custom work?" Tori sounded politely interested, like she was buying him time or something. "I wondered about that."

He didn't need time. He totally knew what he was doing. But when Shel said, "We like to think of every engagement ring as custom work. We can accommodate a couple's preference in metal, grade, finish, shape and size in addition to design, etching, and engraving work."

Hunter started to get worried, and the feeling only increased when the man gestured to the display case to their right and added, "We also have a tremendous selection of gemstones, including diamonds--of course--and examples of each of the settings we offer so you can see how they'll look in the ring you choose."

"Okay, hold it right there." Hunter deliberately avoided looking at the display case. "He's a guy, and I'm not giving him a diamond engagement ring."

"Diamonds can be embedded in men's engagement rings," Shel offered. "The deep setting gives them a more subtle look. Some people also like channel diamonds, which are set into a groove that circles the ring and again, puts the surface of the stone on a level with the rest of the ring."

"No diamonds." He was adamant on this point. "Cam's hard on his jewelry. I want something he can wear. Not something he has to worry about losing, or breaking, or whatever."

"If you're looking for a stronger ring," Shel said without batting an eye, "you might want to consider platinum or titanium. Platinum looks very much like white gold, but it's nowhere near as soft. Titanium has a more distinctive look, a darker grey color, but it's the strongest metal we have and I can almost guarantee you won't be able to destroy it."

"Oh yeah?" Hunter's mouth quirked. "How 'almost'?"

Shel gave him the look right back. "So 'almost' that we won't even engrave it, because the laser can't penetrate deep enough to make a readable inscription. It comes in two grades," he continued, when Hunter looked interested. "Pure titanium, and aircraft grade titanium, which has some aluminum mixed in to make it stronger."

"I like that," Hunter told Tori. "It could take Cam months to figure out how to break that."

"Why do you assume he's going to break it?" she demanded. "There is such a thing as taking care of your engagement ring. I think Cam's kind of guy who'd be really careful with something like that."

He looked pointedly at her left hand, where she wore a wedding band to match Blake's. "You don't even wear your engagement ring."

"Yeah, because I don't want anything to happen to it," she retorted.

"That's my point," he said. "I want him to wear it. I don't want him to put it in a box somewhere because he's afraid something might happen to it."

Shel had opened the display case next to them, and he was pulling out ring after ring. "These are a few of our titanium pieces," he said, when he caught Hunter's eye. "You can see, here, a plain titanium band with a beveled edge. This is the grey color that's so characteristic of titanium, although it can be polished to look brighter, like this."

Hunter reached for the first ring while the man held up a second. "It's light," he said, surprised.

"Titanium's a very light metal," Shel agreed. "A lot of people like it for exactly that reason: it's easy to wear. Almost unnoticeable."

Hunter slid it onto his own finger, carefully avoiding either of their gazes while he was doing it. Great. Now not only was he shopping for jewelry, he was trying it on. He'd better not hear Tori telling this story to everyone they knew later.

He wasn't used to wearing rings, but even he could tell this one felt weirdly light on his hand.

"It's also non-magnetic," Shel was saying. "Sometimes we get people in who work with electronics, and that's always a selling point."

Really? Hunter pondered that. He knew perfectly well that Cam didn't do much of that anymore, but still. Good to know.

"Sounds like a real pain to get out of the sink when you accidentally drop it down the drain," Tori remarked, leaning on his shoulder to peer at the ring he was studying.

"The upside is that while it's down there you know it isn't get scratched up or bent," Shel countered with a smile. "Even if you put it through the disposal."

"Are these all titanium?" Hunter asked, handing the plain ring back. He cast a wary eye at the collection assembled on the counter. Some of them had stones in them. And some of them were... colored?

"These are all titanium 6-4," Shel said. "That's our standard titanium grade, the aircraft grade with aluminum. I got out these two just so you could see what the embedded diamond looks like, and this one with channel birthstones--"

"Uh-huh." He'd already said he didn't want stones. "What's the color on these?"

"That's a unique characteristic of the titanium, actually." To the guy's credit, he put away the rings with gemstones and got out a couple more with cool-looking colored lines. These were more complicated designs, a wave pattern on one and what had to be kanji on the other, and Hunter frowned at them. Pretty, but... off, somehow.

"It can be anodized to create the bright colors you see here," Shel was explaining. "The color isn't permanent; it'll wear off or scrub off of the surface of the ring. But it stays in the channels, like this, and it makes a striking look against any finish."

Hunter reached out to tap the ring with the kanji etched in bright blue on it. "I thought you said you didn't engrave these rings."

"Personalized engravings are done with a laser," Shel told him. "They tend to be too faint to see or last on titanium. This--" He indicated the kanji ring. "Is done in an industrial mold, like the channels and inlays you see here."

Tacky. He blinked, suddenly getting what he didn't like about the designs. Too cutesy.

"I kind of like the plain colored grooves," he said aloud, taking a closer look at a simple lined silver band. "Do you do any colors other than blue?"

"In store coloring is exclusively blue," Shel said. "But we do contract out for a variety of other colors through an independent company. I have a color palette here somewhere, if you're interested."

"Yeah," Hunter confirmed. "Definitely interested. Can you do two different colors?"

"Not on the same ring." Shel sounded vaguely apologetic as he split his attention between them and something he was searching for behind the counter. Presumably his color chart. "The coloring is done by putting the ring into an anodizing bath that turns the entire ring blue--or whatever color you choose. Then we buff the surface of the ring to remove the excess color, leaving behind only the color in the channels."

"Got it," Hunter said, only partly listening once he realized the answer was no. "What about red? Can you make it turn red?"

"It's a fairly deep red," Shel said. "But yes, we can contract for that color.

"Here, this is the color range of titanium," he added, putting a sheet of paper on the counter between them. A rainbow sheen on a sheet of glossy black photo paper, it was oddly reminiscent of an oil slick. Hunter guessed this observation wouldn't go over well, so he kept it to himself.

"You can see there's this dark red color in between the burgundy and the sort of burnt sienna color," Shel was saying, and Hunter couldn't get Cam's mocking voice out of his head: Gays are good with colors. Seriously, "burnt sienna"? Who said that?

"Dark red is great," he said. "That's exactly what I want."

Tori was hanging on the counter beside him, mostly keeping her mouth shut, but he could feel her looking at him. "You don't think Cam will mind wearing your color?" she asked, when he raised his eyebrows at her. A challenge, okay, but she probably wasn't totally kidding.

Instead of trying to convince her, he wondered aloud, "What's your role, again?"

"Um..." She looked like she had never really known. "To provide moral suppot?"

"That's right." He'd give her that one, but he wasn't going to let it go without clarification. "Your role is not to pick out the ring. Your role is to keep me from feeling like an idiot while I pick out the ring."

"Sorry," she said, rolling her eyes. She was smirking when she said, "So, a totally red ring, then?"

"Shut up," he told her.

"We actually remove the surface color on purpose," Shel offered. "It would fade on its own anyway, and this way you get a nice contrast between the anodized color and the natural hue of the metal."

"What's the black color in between the lines?" Hunter asked, pointing to one of the rings on the counter. "That's cool."

"That's a sable finish." Shel handed the ring to him so he could study it more closely. "This ring actually has three different finishes on it: sable there in the middle, between the colored channels, and then the edges of the ring are polished. The inside is a satin finish, which gives it a smoother feel against your skin."

He tried it on, but it felt like any other ring. "I can't tell the difference," he said, clenching his fingers into a fist and noticing that the ring didn't pinch. It was, at least, very smooth.

"The satin finish is fairly common on the inside of rings," Shel told him. "You might be more likely to notice it over an extended period of time."

"I like this," Hunter decided, taking it off without putting it down. "You said the edges are some kind of finish?"

"Polish, yes." Shel lined up a few more rings for him. "These are some of the other finishes. This one is frosted, and this one has a hammered finish in the middle."

Yeah, that was the one he'd been eyeing. "Is there any way to make the edges of this ring look like that?" Hunter wanted to know.

"Certainly," Shel agreed. "You can have a sable finish in the middle and a hammered finish on the outsides. It won't be as noticeable as it is on this ring, though, because the edges of the one you have are narrower than this middle strip. It will look more like..." He paused to consider the assortment of rings. "This one has hammered edges."

Hunter looked at it. Less obvious, okay, but definitely cooler than the generic smooth silver edges. "That's what I want," he decided. "This ring with the black in the middle and hammered edges. And I want the two blue lines to be dark red."

"Excellent." Shel leaned forward to examine the ring he was holding, then nodded once. "Let me get some paperwork for you, so we can make sure I've got all the details."

"So," Tori said, keeping her voice low while Shel disappeared somewhere. "Is it a thing with the Bradley brothers not to ask how much things cost? Because Blake said he didn't ask about my ring until after he'd picked it out, either."

If Blake had told her that, he was lying. He knew perfectly well his bro had done Serious Research before picking out an engagement ring, and Hunter actually remembered some of it. Not enough to know what he was doing, obviously, but enough to know how much he was spending. The money was in the stone. Cam would probably never speak to him again if Hunter got him a diamond, so that wasn't an issue.

"I've been winning motocross championships for four years," he told her instead. "I don't know where you think that money's going, but it's not toward higher education."

"Yeah, speaking of that," Tori said, poking him in the side. "You're working at the day care center now? What happened to endorsements and touring and all that?"

He shrugged. "I didn't race for half the season," he said. "Advertisers tend to like people who win."

She was frowning at him, which was fair, since that wasn't the reason and she knew it. "You were out doing shows as soon as your arm healed."

He shrugged again. "Maybe I'm tired of being on the road all the time."

"Maybe you were missing Cam," she countered, grinning at his sheepish expression. "That's it, isn't it. You're sticking around on purpose. Are you gonna go back to Factory Blue in the spring?"

"I haven't left yet," he pointed out. "I'm still on the team; I'm still training."

"Are you thinking about leaving?" she pressed. "You just said 'yet.' How long did the day care place hire you for?"

"Just the winter," he said. "Maybe."

"Maybe?" she repeated.

"All right," Shel said, returning with a clipboard that he balanced against the edge of the counter. "Can I get your last name and your phone number?"

Hunter gave them to him, and then Shel started confirming colors and design and finish for the ring. There was a brief pause while Hunter rejected a domed band in favor of the flat ones he'd been looking at, and compared two other inside finishes to the "satin" that Shel had given him first. Then came the one part he was actually prepared for.

"Now," Shel said. "Do you like the width and thickness of this ring? Depending on the size you order, the proportions of the design could look a little bit different. What size are you going to want?"

He could feel the glance Tori gave him, but he reached into his pocket and pulled out a copper ring with a lightning bolt pattern on it. "This is the right size," he said, holding it up. "You can measure it and figure out what size the new ring needs to be from this, right?"

"Of course," Shel agreed, and when he reached for it Hunter handed it over. "This is the best way to do it, because you don't have to do any measuring yourself and best of all, no one has to guess. I take it this is one of Cam's rings?"

"Kind of," Hunter said. When he caught Tori's skeptical look he added, "We were goofing off on the boardwalk a couple months ago, and I won a ring in one of those shooting games, y'know? I made him try on, like, ten or twelve before I got--well, a different one, and this one because I told him it would help me size his engagement ring later.

"He thought I was joking," he added with a smirk.

"Sometimes the truth is the best disguise," Shel said, sliding the ring onto a cone thing. "Looks like a nine and a half."

"It's a little too narrow, though." Hunter watched him scribble the number on his paper. "I like the width of this one better."

"I think that's eight millimeters." Shel reached for the stand the ring had come from and flipped it over. "Eight millimeters it is. What about the thickness of the ring from the inside to the outside? Does that work for you?"

He hesitated, then put the ring on again and clenched his fingers. "Yeah, I guess," he said. "I dunno. It seems fine."

"Well, here," Shel said, putting the clipboard down. "I think there's one here... try this one. It's a little bit finer, but it will give you an idea of what a thinner ring feels like. There's a thicker one here, if you want to try a little more metal."

He tried them both, tried the original ring again, and ended up going with that one anyway. Who knew rings were so complicated? Cam was picking their wedding bands. No question. The thought made him smile, and he admitted, if only to himself, that Cam would probably be way better at it than he was.

He and Tori finally did get out of the story, but only after he had left his credit card information, been lectured on choosing an appropriate ring box, and received instructions to call the store in four days if he didn't hear from them by then. "We should have your ring ready to go in three," Shel told him. Apparently he could pay extra to have them speed it up, but he still had a week and a half. "You can come by and approve it before you pay for it, or we can ship it to you sight unseen."

He said he'd rather come in and see it first. Not because he didn't trust them, but because, hey, it was an engagement ring. For his boyfriend. He'd really rather it didn't arrive in a FedEx box on his doorstep. So to speak.

"This is so exciting," Tori declared, glee in her voice as she climbed into the truck beside him. "I can't believe you're really about to propose! When are you going to do it?"

"Next Saturday," he said, turning the key and putting the truck into first. "Thanks for coming with me, by the way. You want that I should drop you at your next class, or back at the apartment?"

She glanced at her watch as they rolled out of their parking space. "The apartment. That didn't take anywhere near as long as I thought it would."

He shot an incredulous look her way. "It didn't take as long as you thought? That took forever."

"Maybe by guy standards," she said, rolling her eyes. "So, Saturday? This weekend, or the one after?"

"The eighth," Hunter said. "The demo at the Wind Academy. So, y'know. If you want to come."

"What!"

He grinned. Yeah. He'd kind of expected that reaction. He just hoped it wasn't gonna piss Cam off.

"You're going to propose at the Wind Academy demo?" Tori demanded. "Are you crazy?"

"What's wrong with the demo?" he countered. "Cam's going. His dad'll be there. Sensei Omino will be there. Leanne's gonna kill me for doing it while she's in Nepal, but I can't run my whole life on her schedule, so." He shrugged.

"Did you tell Sensei about this?" Tori wanted to know.

He snorted. "You really think I'd spring something like this on him at the last second? Besides," he added as an afterthought. "I'm gonna need a microphone."

She started to laugh. "Cam," she said, in between giggles, "is going to kill you! You're going to propose to him in front of the entire academy with a microphone?"

"Shut up," he told her. "Blake asked you in front of your whole family at Thanksgiving. That's just as bad."

"That's nowhere near as bad," she exclaimed, still laughing. "I knew he was going to do it!"

"Yeah, well." Hunter shrugged again. "Cam pretty much knows I'm gonna do this, too."

"You'd better tell him," Tori declared, and the warning was clear even through her amusement. "Seriously, Hunter. Don't do it to him without warning him first. He will kill you."

"You think?" He gave her a sideways look.

"Yes," she said firmly. "It's a great idea. And I'm so coming. But you'd better tell him first, or he'll get revenge like you wouldn't believe."

It was probably good advice. He took it, too. Because he wasn't stupid, and Tori had known Cam longer than he had.

He picked up the ring at the end of the week. He hid it in his CD collection, because Cam didn't know music that wasn't shared, downloaded from the internet, or stored in a digital library even existed anymore. He got word from Tori that all of the former Rangers had been let in on the secret and invited to the demo. They were all coming, too. Of course. Cam really might kill him.

So on the night before the demo, Hunter took him out for dinner and casually brought up the subject of the next day. "Just so you know," he told Cam. "I'm gonna ask you a question tomorrow. I don't want you to have to think too long about your answer, so. Start thinking now."

Cam considered that for all of half a second, then narrowed his eyes at Hunter across the table. "We're going to the demo tomorrow."

Hunter could do a straight face. "Yeah," he agreed evenly. "I heard that."

Cam studied him. "Is this day going to involve me being utterly embarrassed?"

He hesitated. "Possibly," he admitted at last. "You want to know now?"

"That depends how utterly embarrassed I'm going to be," Cam countered.

"I don't think you'll have to flee the country," Hunter told him. "Really."

Cam held his gaze a moment longer, then nodded. "Okay," he agreed. "Just... give me a little warning, okay?"

"You got it," Hunter assured him.

Later that night, he kissed Cam's throat and whispered, "You know what I'm gonna ask you, right?"

Cam's answer floated back to him in the darkness. "Yeah," he said, and Hunter would have sworn he could hear a smile in the word. "I know."

So he felt a little better the next day. They arrived at the academy after lunch, and surprise, their entire graduating class had shown up at the demo for the first time since... well, ever. He hadn't seen Tori and Blake in their ninja uniforms for years. Shane was there, and Dustin, and someone must have told Cam's cousins because even they had managed to get a free pass onto campus. They were bright figures in a sea of black and muted element colors.

Everyone pretended to be normal, which was good, because one secretive look would have sent Cam into sarcastic overdrive. He liked a show, yeah. He didn't like people thinking he was out of the loop. But as long as they were all polite and pleased and acting like, hey, we do this every year, instead of, hey, what a coincidence that we all showed up at the same academy at the same time... It worked out okay.

They watched five different demonstrations, including one by Thunder ninjas and two that were intercampus, and it was just as Sensei's transmogriphication class was finishing that Hunter leaned over and muttered, "This is your two-minute warning."

Cam didn't even look at him. "Does this involve going up on stage?"

"Yeah," Hunter told him.

"Did everyone know about this but me?" Cam asked, still not looking at him.

"Nope." Please. Like he didn't know the right answer to that question. "No one knows except me and your dad."

Cam gave him a disbelieving look. "Hunter, everyone's here."

"Yeah, thank Tori for that," Hunter said with a half-smile. He wasn't above passing the buck. "She got the date out of me. Not the plan."

Cam's mouth quirked up at the edges. "You're lying to make me feel better."

"I'm not," Hunter insisted. "Say the word and I'll call it off, Cam. It's up to you."

The audience was applauding around him, but they just stood there, staring at each other. He thought they could be forgiven for the lapse in formality, considering the circumstances. Even if they were drawing a few covert looks from the people nearby. "This isn't for me," he said, under cover of the crowd. "I just thought you'd, y'know. Like it. If you don't, let's just go. Somewhere better. Somewhere more private."

He knew where, too. It wasn't like he didn't have a backup plan.

But Cam was shaking his head. "No, sorry," he said quietly. "I just... I feel weird here, sometimes. That's all."

"So let's go," Hunter insisted. "We don't have to do it here."

"I want to," Cam said simply.

That made Hunter relax a little, because, okay. That was all he asked, that Cam say "I want" a little more often. "Okay," he repeated aloud. "Then come on. You get to stand in the front now."

Sensei was already alone on the raised platform in front of the audience, no mike necessary to project his voice. "Now," he was saying, "if I may, I'd like to extend a warm welcome to a special guest. A Thunder ninja, teacher, performer, and motocross rider... my former student, and my son's partner: Hunter Bradley."

Hunter left Cam in front of the audience and stepped up onto the platform with Cam's dad, not immune to the applause that greeted this welcome. "Thanks, Sensei," he said quietly.

Sensei gave him a nod, a smile, and the cordless mike that he hadn't bothered to use before moving off to one side and stepping down from the platform. It was more of an endorsement than Hunter had expected. He turned to face the crowd and found Cam watching his dad. Even as he noticed, though, Cam's attention came back to him.

"Hi," Hunter said, checking to make sure the mike was on. He smiled at Cam, and to his relief, Cam smiled back at him. "Maybe some of you know me and my family from the Thunder academy. A few of you know me from the year I spent training here, at the Wind academy, but I know a lot of you were, y'know, kind of busy then."

This drew a restless acknowledgment and maybe some scattered chuckles. It was only true insofar as "busy" equaled "imprisoned on a spaceship in orbit around Earth." On the other hand, a lot of them had every reason to know what he'd been doing during that time, and it wasn't sitting around waiting for those trapped ninjas to escape.

"That was the year I met Cam," he continued. "I'll have known him five years next February. It wasn't until a few months ago that I realized I'm completely in love with him, but I'm pretty sure it's not a new thing. I think it happened four years and ten months ago, actually. So in that spirit, I'm gonna tell you a little story about how we first met."

Glancing back at Cam, he was just in time to see his boyfriend roll his eyes. Yeah, he thought with a smirk. Cam knew what was coming now.

"The devil went down to Georgia," Hunter announced, watching Cam pretend to bury his face in his hand. "He was looking for a soul to steal. He was in a bind 'cause he was way behind so he was willing to make a deal."

He grinned as Cam crossed his arms and looked over to the side of the stage, maybe looking for his dad.

"He came across a young man sawing on a fiddle and playing it hot," Hunter declared. He didn't take his eyes off of Cam, who was now deliberately not looking at him. "The devil jumped up on a hickory stump and said, 'Boy, let me tell you what: I bet you didn't know it, but I'm a fiddle player too. And if you'd care to take a dare, I'll make a bet with you.'"

Cam's gaze reluctantly met his again, and he was smiling again. "'You play a pretty good fiddle, boy, but give the devil his due,'" Hunter told him. "'I'll bet a fiddle of gold against your soul 'cause I think I'm better than you.'" He lifted his free hand to point at Cam.

He paused there, and when Cam didn't move he turned his hand over and crooked his finger. Cam just stood there, arms folded, eyebrow raised, and Hunter jerked his head at the platform beside him. Lowering the mike, he called, "What, you need a written invitation?"

"I didn't realize I was expected to participate," Cam said dryly. He was coming forward, though, and he stood on the platform a moment later, holding out his hand for the mike. Hunter handed it over with a grin.

"My name's Johnny," Cam said, not bothering to look at the audience. His tolerant tone was directed solely at Hunter. "And it might be a sin, but I'll take your bet and you're gonna regret--" He paused, giving Hunter a look that said he'd better not forget it. "Because I'm the best that's ever been."

Someone in the audience whooped, and Hunter was willing to put money on it being Dustin. The noise prompted a rustle of amusement from the crowd, and Hunter grinned. "Johnny, rosin up your bow and play your fiddle hard," he teased, taking the mike back with one hand and reaching into his pocket with the other. "'Cause hell's broke loose in Georgia and the devil deals the cards."

He held up the ring as he went down on one knee. "And if you say yes," he said, more quietly, "I'm gonna give you this ring. 'Cause you know you've already got my soul."

There was utter silence as Cam stared down at him, an unreadable look in his eyes. "You know," he said after a moment. "You're insane."

"And you're still miked," Hunter remarked, unfazed.

Cam reached for the hand holding the microphone and lifted it higher. Hunter let it go, and Cam told it, perfectly clearly, "Hunter Bradley is completely crazy."

"That's why you love me," Hunter agreed patiently.

Cam's expression finally cracked, a smile tugging at his lips. "Yeah," he admitted, microphone still in his hand as he stared down at Hunter. "It probably is."

He wouldn't mind standing up any time now. "Marry me?" he prompted.

"Marry the devil?" Cam countered, smirking down at him. He was really having too much fun with that microphone. But then he switched it to his other hand, held out his left hand, and totally made up for it by saying, "Yeah. I'll do that."

Hunter managed to get the ring on the right finger without dropping it, and he let Cam pretend to pull him up without really doing anything. Cam moved the mike out of the way, leaning in to kiss him, which Hunter was very in favor of. As they exchanged their ceremonial kiss, the gathered ninjas started to applaud. Hunter couldn't help thinking that it was weirdly like Tori and Blake's reception, except with less of the being afraid that Cam was never going to speak to him again.

"Nice ring," he heard Cam whisper in his ear. "Why don't I get a ring box?"

Hunter laughed as he pulled away. "I'll give it to you later," he told Cam. "It wouldn't fit in my pocket."

Then they had to leave the platform and be congratulated by everyone they knew, and probably some people they didn't, to the point where the three o'clock demonstration slot got pushed back to almost three-thirty. Sensei Omino hovered for a lot of that time, and Hunter was right that he heard from Leanne later. It turned out that his family thought he didn't talk to them, or something crazy like that. He really thought they should lay off, since it wasn't like he was getting letters from them every week.

He and Cam had most of the weekend to celebrate the whole engagement thing, then Cam dove back into his school stuff and didn't surface again for two weeks. It would have been exasperating... okay, it was exasperating, but it would have been worse if Blake didn't end up with more free time than he knew what to do with. Apparently Tori had gotten stuck with a heavy semester too, but this time around Blake seemed to have scored the alternative professors who didn't believe in exams.

So he went down to see Blake the next weekend, and they hung around commiserating about the disgusting effect school seemed to be having on their social lives. Hunter took the opportunity to grumble about always having to be the laid-back one, the one who supposedly had no stress and so wasn't allowed to complain about anything for the duration of exams. And it wasn't like exams just happened and were over, either--no, he had to be understanding and supportive for weeks while Cam studied and coded and did what seemed to be an inordinate amount of tutoring.

Finals widowers, Blake said. That's what we are.

Blake and Tori finished the following week, but they celebrated by staying in Angel Grove and sleeping. Or that was what Cam said Tori had told him on the phone, and he really didn't look like he was in the mood to be teased right then so Hunter let it go. He'd be glad when this semester was over.

Cam's last assignment was due that Saturday. On Sunday morning, he stumbled out of the bedroom and squinted at Hunter. "Did you say something about going on vacation for Christmas?" he wanted to know.

Hunter smirked. "Maybe," he said. This question was much more interesting than whether Cam's coffeemaker could be programmed to store two different startup times. "Depends whether you can face shopping the week before Christmas."

Cam considered that, his brain ticking over at only about half its accustomed pace, if the expression on his face was anything to go by. "Like you've ever not gone shopping the week before Christmas," he said at last. "What does that have to do with it?"

By the end of the day, Cam owned enough outerwear to keep him warm and dry in the snow, and Hunter had a healthy respect for the practical implications of Cam's inability to take anything for granted. Just because someone told him that the drifters he was looking at were great, that was no reason to think they were lined, waterproof, breathable, and hey, complete with cargo pockets, unless he read the label himself. It didn't take Hunter long to learn that his role was to keep his mouth shut until Cam explicitly asked his opinion.

On the plus side, Cam gave him absolutely zero grief about booking a ski vacation. Hunter knew perfectly well he didn't ski, snowboard, or tube, and he had expected to hear about his choice of holiday getaways. Possibly in great detail. But he didn't. All he got was sarcastic and highly entertaining commentary on seasonal shopping in general and the purchasing of outerwear in particular. Still more proof that anything could be funny when Cam was talking about it.

Even on the drive up, Cam brought up almost every topic except skiing. He started with kids. "I agree to the concept of kids," he remarked, out of the blue. "As long as there aren't more than two. And you understand that I'm not going to be a stay-at-home dad." This somehow segued into jobs, careers, and the working world, since Cam--in a joking but, Hunter suspected, completely serious way--forbid Hunter to travel and try to raise a family at the same time. The gist of it was that if Hunter wanted kids, Hunter could stay home and attend the PTA meetings.

He figured that was fair. He also managed to startle Cam, if only for a moment, by suggesting that he give up his factory ride. He'd lived the life, made a name, taken his turn in the spotlight. And no, it wasn't about the kids, even if it kind of was. It was about Cam first. It was the way they were not-quite living together that he didn't want to give up come spring. It was about the fact that he couldn't even drive to San Francisco anymore without counting the days until he was back in town, and that really made life on the road less glamorous.

Cam got over his surprise quickly enough that Hunter didn't feel totally unwanted, and then made up for it by refusing to move into his apartment. Hunter rolled his eyes and pointed out that Cam's was smaller and Cam scoffed right back at him. "I'm not inviting you to move into my place, either," he declared. "Can you imagine me voluntarily allowing someone else to rearrange my living space? There's the romantic ideal and then there's reality."

"The solution to this being," Hunter prompted. He was pretty sure that Cam wasn't about to argue against living together, even if shared space had caused problems right after the wedding. After all, Cam had conceded on the kid issue--which, by the way, that was totally a win--and at the very least, he figured even Cam couldn't make a logical case for fostering kids in two separate households.

"Obviously we'll have to get a new place," Cam said. "The question is when and how big." He didn't exactly wait on those questions, either. Cam had apparently decided to plan the next twenty years of their life on their way to the ski resort, and finally Hunter put his foot down.

"Hey," he demanded. "Could we deal with this week first before we start organizing 2022?"

"I think we could make things a lot easier for ourselves by figuring some of this out in advance," Cam insisted. "That's all."

"I think we could end up doing all the same work over again when things don't turn out the way we expect," Hunter countered. "Which they won't. That's what things do, they... become other things. That you don't expect. Sometimes all you can do is show up and see what happens."

"Well, we've already shown up," Cam began. "So now--"

"No," Hunter interrupted. "Forget it. You don't get to plan the seeing what happens. That's just wrong."

Cam leaned back in his seat, maybe, finally, letting it go.

"When are we getting married?" he asked suddenly.

"Why haven't you complained about the skiing part of this vacation?" Hunter wanted to know.

He could almost hear Cam blink. "I've barely seen you for the last two weeks," he said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You can pretty much take me anywhere you want."

Hunter couldn't help grinning at that, because Cam was serious. "You are so fucking smitten." And he was still totally surprised by it.

"Yeah," Cam drawled, sounding more amused than defensive. "I thought we'd already established that."

It just got better, Hunter thought. "I forget sometimes," he blurted out. "That I'm... y'know. He shrugged, keeping his eyes on the road. "Not the only one."

"I don't know how you could." Cam was perfectly matter-of-fact about it.

"Okay then." Hunter cleared his throat. "I think we should get married next summer."

"Okay." Cam agreed readily.

Speaking of that, Hunter thought. "I talked to Sage," he said. He figured if he didn't say it now it would only get harder.

"I know," Cam replied.

Hunter frowned at the road. "How do you know that?"

"I saw her website address on your computer."

Of course. He probably hadn't even had to look for it. It wasn't like Hunter routinely cleared the cache or anything. "How do you know Sage gave it to me?" he wanted to know. "Who says I didn't find it on my own?"

There was a brief pause, and then Cam informed him, "I'm looking at you with extreme skepticism."

Hunter shot a sideways glance across the cab, and sure enough, Cam was giving him a classic "yeah, right" look. "Well," Hunter said defensively. But there wasn't really anywhere he could go with that that wouldn't sound juvenile, so he settled for, "It's not like you ever said anything."

This time the pause was longer. "Not everyone's into that kind of thing," Cam said at last.

Hunter raised his eyebrows at the road. "And?" he prompted.

He saw Cam shrug out of the corner of his eye. "And you're my best friend," he said. "I had more to lose with you."

He frowned, trying to figure that out. "More to lose with me than with Sage?"

"Than with anyone," Cam said simply.

He thought about it, but no matter how he looked at it that had to be some unique logic. "Only to you would it make sense to tell everyone you sleep with something you won't tell your fiance," Hunter informed him. And hey, check it out. He was Cam's fiance. Neat.

"Not everyone," Cam said quietly.

He just gave Cam a brief look, because he figured the question was pretty obvious.

"Just the girls," Cam said with a sigh. A little rueful. He even paused, just for a second, like he expected Hunter to mock him before he could get the rest of it out. "I didn't... let guys have that kind of control." Then he added, "Until you. Obviously."

Even Cam sounded awkward when he was talking about sex, which had always sort of amused Hunter. He wasn't any better, but Cam could say anything. Except this, apparently.

"Why not?" he asked. It seemed like a reasonable question.

He saw Cam shrug again. "I guess I trust girls more. At least... when it comes to sex."

Hunter considered that. He'd be damned if he let a girl do half the things Cam did to him, and that was even assuming it did anything for him. A guy, though. That was different. He'd always figured it was all in the orientation, but if Cam was gonna call it trust...

Yeah, no. Girls? He really didn't know where Cam was coming from there.

"Not more than you," Cam added. "Just, in general. I trust you. I'd let you... I mean. You know."

He didn't, which could eventually become a problem if Cam kept getting stuck at "you know." It wasn't even something Cam said. He'd totally picked it up from Hunter, and Hunter didn't know whether he should be proud of his influence on Cam's vocabulary or annoyed that it had shown up in this particular topic.

"I just didn't have any reason to think you'd want to," Cam was saying. "I still don't, really. But you're--" He broke off, and Hunter could have sworn he was smiling when he continued. "You'd be good at it."

Uh-huh. Now Cam was just buttering him up. He didn't compliment like that for just anything, and most of the times he did it seemed to be sex-related. Hunter couldn't tell if that was because he wasn't really that good at it or if it was just one of those things that was more important to Cam than the laundry or how well the dishes were washed.

"I'm cool with it," he informed Cam. "But you're gonna have to tell me what I'm doing, 'cause I was never really into the whole game thing."

"It doesn't have to be a game," Cam said unexpectedly. "You can do whatever you want." And in another tone of voice, it could have been Cam giving up, withdrawing, hiding behind a shield of apathy... but it wasn't another tone of voice. It was this one, low and secretive and weirdly shocking when he murmured, "I can do whatever you want."

Because, shit, who knew Cam could talk like that? He wanted to turn and stare at him, but this conversation was making his driving hazardous enough as it was and if he looked over at Cam right now he might forget to stop. "Yeah, okay," he said instead, his eyes fixed on the road. "Let's talk about this later. Tonight."

"Umm..." It sounded like Cam, but there still something so seductive about it that Hunter didn't hear what he was saying at first. "Not tonight. Maybe at your place, when we get back home."

When the words sank in, he blinked. "Excuse me?" And yeah, see, he'd gotten that from Cam, so they were even. But, what? Back home?

"I don't really like an audience," Cam admitted. "I'd rather not have people listening through the walls."

Now Hunter threw him an incredulous look, because that was so random that he was mostly distracted. "What? How come this never came up before?" And no, that didn't make any sense, because he and Cam had traveled together since the wedding. Hey, right, the wedding. "You've slept with me in hotels."

Cam's response was wry and startlingly blunt and it made Hunter's mouth go dry. "You never tied me up in a hotel."

He couldn't answer for a long moment. First because he hadn't known what a turn-on those words could be, and then because he didn't have any idea what to say. Finally, though, he managed, "And I can't start now because...?"

"It's a privacy thing," Cam told him. He actually did sound apologetic when he added, "Sorry," and that was too bad, because it probably meant he was serious.

"Are you serious?" He felt this deserved confirmation. "What happened to whatever I want?"

Cam actually chuckled, and he wondered if that was a good sign or not. Cam's answer didn't help. "You can command the sun to rise," he murmured, "as long as you do it at the right time of day."

Hunter raised his eyebrows skeptically. "What does that mean?"

"It means some things are worth waiting for," Cam informed him.

He ended up being right, which was good because Hunter went home with that promise four days later. Cam went home with silk rope, which worked out unbelievably well. It had been his Christmas present from Hunter, along with the t-shirt and some of the good coffee, but it didn't take Hunter long to realize that this one--unlike the other two--he got to share.

He got sex on New Year's Eve for the first time since Charlie, which made it only the second time ever. It was so worth it. Worth leaving the party early, worth the lights off at his apartment, worth any and all embarrassment endured in the quest for knowledge. Because it turned out that Cam did, in fact, scream.

It wasn't the only thing he learned about his lover during their vacation. Cam's Christmas present to him demonstrated a deviousness that Hunter totally encouraged and a showiness that rivaled his own. Hunter had proposed to him in front of friends and family and other people who at least had some idea who they were. Cam proposed to him in front of a ski lodge full of strangers on Christmas Eve.

The ring was the twin to the one Cam wore--except for the color. The dark red bands on Cam's ring were green on Hunter's, and he smiled at the look Hunter gave him. "Tori helped," he said under his breath. "She convinced the jewelry store that I was who I said I was and we got them to make me a duplicate."

"Sneaky," Hunter murmured, while privately wondering if there would be any major events in their relationship that weren't accompanied by people clapping. "I like it."

Cam didn't acknowledge the people around them in any way beyond the volume of his voice. "Marry me?" he asked quietly.

"Anytime," Hunter agreed. He smirked at the tiny headshake he got in return, the only hint of humor Cam showed in response to levity that the situation so totally called for. Cam would probably help him out in that department, given half a chance. Or less. Because that was what he did. That was what they did.

"Just remember," Hunter teased as he pulled him into an affectionate embrace, "I said it first."