There was a time when just the fact of someone entering the room, whether they made any noise or not, would jerk him out of a sound sleep. He had always been a light sleeper. It had taken a long time to adjust to sharing a bed, and he still couldn't sleep through anyone's presence but Hunter's.

When he felt someone's touch on his shoulder, though, it was a drowsy awareness, the sense that he wasn't alone but no adrenaline reaction to shake off the comfort of somnolence. There was only one person who could get that close to him without waking him up, and he rolled over when the pressure on his shoulder disappeared. What time was it?

Hunter was a darker shadow against the dimness, nothing but his outline visible in the flickering light through the windows. He was supposed to remember something about that--something about tonight. What was Hunter doing here, anyway?

"Hi," he mumbled, squinting in a futile effort to make out Hunter's expression in the unlit room. "What's going on?"

"We had a date," Hunter informed him. He kept his voice low out of deference to the hour, but the amusement was distinguishable nonetheless.

Cam remembered that much. "Which you canceled," he muttered, pushing himself up onto his elbows as he contemplated the energy required to sit all the way up. He was really, really drained. He couldn't have gone to bed more than a few hours ago.

"Yeah." The amusement was gone, now. "Sorry about that." A brief pause, and then a more hopeful tone. "Can I make it up to you?"

"Yeah," Cam echoed, squeezing his eyes shut as he barely suppressed a yawn. "A vacation and three days' sleep. You can cancel as many dates as you want."

"And behind door number two..." Hunter lowered himself onto the edge of the bed, a hint of sympathy in his otherwise teasing tone. "A night with your favorite head teacher."

Cam sighed, turning to the side and slouching a little further down on one elbow. It was a token measure, an intermediate step on his way to lying down again. "A night that involves sleeping?" he wondered.

Hunter apparently took it as a condition, not a request. "If that's what you want," he agreed, with his own overly dramatic sigh. He threw himself down on the bed next to Cam, bringing the familiar smell of his leather training uniform very close as he declared morosely, "I'll just, you know. Lie here. While you sleep."

He didn't have to deal with this. It was his room, his bed, his sleep that would be sacrificed. He could roll over, face the other wall, and Hunter would probably take the hint. It wasn't like there was anything sexy about training uniforms, or taking them off. Or about overbearing boyfriends who were willing to do whatever you told them to do. Go away... go to sleep... go d--

The world tilted as the darkness moved and for a moment he wasn't sure what had happened. Then he realized it was the mattress against his back and Hunter looming above him. "I can hear you thinking," Hunter's shadow informed him. "Stop it."

"I wasn't thinking," Cam told the shape that was blocking most of the window's meager light. He wished he could sound a little less awake, but some quiet part of his brain sat up and took notice when Hunter pushed him around. "I was falling asleep."

"Uh-huh." Hunter's hands fumbled across his stomach, knees on either side of Cam's hips as he found the bottom of his t-shirt and tugged. "Bet you'd sleep better without this on," he remarked casually. That was the only warning before he peeled it up, barely giving Cam time to lift his arms as he yanked it off over his shoulders.

Cam shook his head free, blinking, startled, and decidedly more awake. He moved automatically to pull his arms free but the t-shirt tangled around his wrists when Hunter didn't let go, leaning forward and holding Cam's hands above his head as he pressed their mouths together. The kiss wasn't unexpected, and Cam returned it without thinking even as he relaxed.

He could slide his hands free right now. But Hunter had to lean in close to hold them down, closer than just kissing, close enough that the lines of his uniform traced their own pattern on Cam's chest... and the feel of leather on skin was one that he really, really liked. And Hunter knew it, too.

So maybe being woken in the middle of the night wasn't so bad. Not if it meant Hunter's weight holding him down, a mouth he knew as well as his own pressed against his, and the luxurious warmth of denim and leather on skin that was beginning to tingle to life. A shudder ran through him as he stretched, wanting to feel more of a body he couldn't see.

He mumbled a protest when Hunter's mouth abandoned his own, tongue trailing across his jaw and then fastening on the pulse point beneath his chin. His hands twitched involuntarily, too accustomed to retaliation to wait patiently and let Hunter kiss. And yet...

He curled his fingers around the t-shirt still encircling his wrists, felt Hunter's absent grip loosen and disappear as he kissed his way down Cam's neck, into the hollow of his throat, across his collarbone, and still he didn't move. The attention was nice. The gentle slide of one kiss after another, the tickle of bangs that were too long... the slightly selfish realization that for once, he didn't have to do anything but be here.

Hunter shifted, rocking his weight back as he moved lower, and the unexpected sensation drew a groan from Cam. He bit his lip, but Hunter didn't chuckle. Instead he shifted again, their hips grinding together more deliberately this time, and Cam closed his eyes and let the heat wash over him. That felt good. That felt really good, and the urge to reciprocate was making him restless.

But he didn't. He just waited, concentrating on his own breathing--harder than it should be--and on Hunter's patient distribution of kisses, dangerously close to places that could make his breath stop altogether. He really wanted to see how far this would go. Because as demonstrative as he was in public, Hunter was rarely the demanding one when they were in bed together.

Without warning, Hunter's mouth closed over a nipple and Cam drew in a sharp breath. When Hunter's fingers found the other one Cam arched his back instinctively, his whole body shifting in restive response. Hunter sucked hard on his skin, a silent gasp that told Cam he wasn't the only one who felt that sullen throb of connection. He twisted again but Hunter was ready for him, rising up on his knees and bracing his hands on either side of Cam's head.

He couldn't make out Hunter's expression, but he could feel the smile on his lips as he leaned down to kiss him. The loss of the full body contact made his skin crawl, a tingling itch that made his fingers clench on his t-shirt before letting go entirely. He opened his mouth to Hunter's, warm tongue almost distracting enough even when he couldn't stand it anymore.

He grabbed the front of Hunter's uniform, lifting his head up and pulling Hunter closer as he bent his knees and braced his feet against the mattress. He heard Hunter's grunt of surprise as Cam curled into him, his mouth taking up the slack when Hunter hesitated and his fingers tearing the velcro on his vest free. Cam dragged it off his shoulder, the metal badge of the Thunder Academy flashing in the dim light, and he was perfectly happy to shove Hunter down onto the other side of the bed with it when he didn't resist.

The hard thrust required to roll them both over felt so good that he wished it hadn't worked, just so he could do it again, and he wasn't the only one if Hunter's appreciative groan was anything to go by. He settled for planting one knee between Hunter's legs as he scrambled across his body, not immune to the way Hunter immediately rocked against him--and hard. He would have to, being in his training uniform while Cam wore only boxers... but the roughness made him grit his teeth to hide a smirk.

He liked this.

He was aiming for Hunter's mouth when Hunter's hands landed on his shoulders, holding him back, careful not to hit him as he surged up and took over a kiss of his own. Cam's breath deserted him as the lunge made his body jerk against Cam's, knees in almost identical places now, and he was torn between the urge to grind down or to press forward into the kiss and the leather-clad chest.

Hunter made the decision for him, twisting the leg he was sitting on out from underneath him while Cam tried desperately to drown himself in kissing. He couldn't ignore movement like that. Hunter was still shifting, clumsily trying to keep up, chuckling a little as their kisses managed to lose each other just slightly in the dark. Cam followed his mouth with determination, ignoring everything but the feel of bracers on bare skin and the rasp of Hunter's jacket across his chest.

Only when Hunter's balance returned and Cam felt a heated pressure against his thigh, accompanied by a quiet moan as Hunter leaned into him with more assurance, did he realize what had happened. Hunter was kneeling now too, mimicking his position, groin grinding down against Cam's thigh and leaving Cam with an open invitation to do the same. He shifted eagerly, as close as they could be and still have clothes between them, and as the rush of sensation made him strain to be even closer he gasped, "You remember?"

He felt Hunter's hands slide over his boxers, forcing them to coordinate the hungry shift of bodies and friction that was so good but nowhere near enough. "Yeah," he muttered, breath warming Cam's skin as they bumped noses, each tracing the other's face with their own in the dark. "Course I remember."

They used to make out in Ninja Ops like it was their own bedroom. The first time they had ended up in front of each other like this, Cam had been horrified to realize that clothes were the only thing keeping them more than a breath away from actual sex. Or rather, a part of him had been horrified. Another part, one arguably influenced by the escalating energy emanating from the Abyss, had been fiercely delighted and urged him on without another thought.

"Did you ever think," he mumbled, a sigh escaping as Hunter started to kiss his neck again. "What if someone had found us?"

Hunter's soft puff of amusement chilled his damp skin and Cam shivered. The pressure shifted as he rocked forward, and warmth sparked everywhere in his body. It must have affected Hunter too because his voice was little more than a whisper when he replied, "Not sure I would have noticed."

His mouth was on Cam's again, silencing him, stilling him as he pushed them apart--out of each other's laps--and focused everything on a kiss that made Cam's grip on his uniform tighten. He dropped his hands to the zipper on Hunter's jacket, fumbling with it, feeling for the teeth with his fingers while his tongue fought a losing battle in its own territory. He didn't care. The kiss was more of a tease than anything, a distraction from the truly important work of pulling Hunter's clothes off.

Once the zipper was started it was easy to undo, and he pushed the jacket back with one hand while the other stayed right where it had ended up. Hunter was just as ready to lose the jacket, shrugging out of it impatiently until Cam's other hand closed around his belt. His breath hissed as Cam's fingers slid underneath.

He explored. Hunter swore. Cam tugged at the belt again with his free hand and Hunter's fingers came to his aid, actually trembling a little as he continued his idle investigation of the inside of Hunter's pants. It didn't happen often that Hunter was wearing more than he was for any length of time, and he had to admit he was enjoying it. He squeezed experimentally, less than used to the restriction of clothing, and Hunter groaned.

"Could we--" Hunter choked on the words. He shifted awkwardly, breath caught, and tried again. "Could you--"

Despite the desire to shove him onto his back and strip those pants off of Hunter himself, Cam took pity on him. "Back off?" he suggested, hearing the huskiness in his own voice even when he tried to make it clear.

"Yeah." Hunter's voice was strained but grateful as Cam let him go. "I need--" The words were muttered but audible as he struggled out of what remained of his uniform. "Some actual skin contact, here..."

His voice trailed off again as he peeled his shirt off over his head, and Cam took that moment to attack. He went straight for Hunter's ribs, letting his momentum carry them both down onto the mattress because he knew enough to avoid a collision when tickling an unsuspecting Hunter. Hunter started just as violently as Cam had expected, the reaction somewhat softened by his impact with the bed, and he yelped indignantly as Cam landed on top of him.

"You--!" He cut off, dropping his voice abruptly as he whispered, "You are so predictable!" He pushed Cam off, laughter bubbling out despite his best efforts, and Cam bit back a grin of his own. Not predictable enough for Hunter to be able to predict, obviously.

He edged away, just far enough that Hunter's first grab for him came up empty, and repeated his assault. This time he must have seen it coming, because Hunter had both arms up in a defensive guard that was disappointingly effective. Cam tried to stifle his own laugh as Hunter snuck an arm around his stomach, pivoted on his knees, and pressed Cam's back up to his chest in an intimately restraining grasp.

A second later he felt Hunter's hot kiss against the back of his neck. He squirmed, not really trying to break free, and Hunter's other arm slid over his shoulders as the first one dropped into his lap. Fingers danced across his skin, strong and shameless, but all he could focus on was that hand. He distantly felt the swipe of Hunter's tongue against his jaw, gasped at the pinch of first one nipple and then the other... and bit back his protest at the one touch that seemed determined to elude him.

Hunter's hand teased him through the thin fabric of his shorts--why hadn't he taken them off when Hunter was distracted--but his touch was too light to satisfy and too fast to anticipate. Cam didn't know which way to move. He couldn't move; Hunter had a hold on him worthy of the head teacher of a ninja academy. A hold on every part of him except the one that mattered, and he gritted his teeth in frustration.

Fingers closed on his nipple, teeth grazed his neck, and that hand gripped him firmly all at once. Cam cried out, head back against Hunter's shoulder as he pushed his hips forward. And Hunter let him, holding him, offering just enough resistance... shifting slightly with each motion. Through the haze of intent, Cam realized why. He stopped straining forward quite so hard, settling back against Hunter between thrusts, and was rewarded by a muffled moan as Hunter buried his face in Cam's neck.

It was good. It wasn't good enough. He wanted more than friction through boxer shorts, whether Hunter would let it happen that way or not. He tried to pull away, found himself anchored in place and overwhelmed by the pounding rush as Hunter pushed him back just as hard. He tried again, a little awed by the sudden comprehension that he wasn't moving until he convinced Hunter to let him. It was a graphic reminder of their evenly matched strength--there was no reason to hold back.

"Hunter," he gasped, squeezing his eyes shut and trying to ignore the roaring in his ears. "I want--" Hunter's fingers contracted, and he choked on the words. Cam swallowed hard, no easy task when his mouth was this dry, and managed, "Let go."

He did, reluctantly, grip loosening just enough that Cam could pry himself free with difficulty. He slithered free of his shorts, hands shaking as his fingers tripped over each other in their haste, and Hunter had the nerve to laugh at him. Cam turned, intending to advance on a waiting target, and he was caught off guard when Hunter went for him first.

"Feel better?" Hunter drawled, immobilizing him with nothing more than the grip on his shoulders and a demanding kiss that made his skin burn.

No reason to hold back. He pushed Hunter, more roughly than he'd intended but an aggressive Hunter put him off-balance and he was only reacting. There was no rational thinking going on at all, only the heat in his body and the ache that Hunter could cause just by staring at him. Or by lying next to him, when it was too dark to stare.

He wasn't surprised to feel Hunter's body yield beneath his, sinking back onto the bed without a word of protest. He was surprised to find that he was the one on his back a moment later, pinned under a solid weight that didn't have to do much of anything to make him gasp. But it did. Careful fingers traced their way across his skin, fingernails scraping over the places that tingled and pads drifting softly over the ones that didn't--or hadn't, until Hunter touched them. Cam tried to suppress a moan, almost failed, struggled to take control of the situation.

Hunter didn't try to hold him down. But he wasn't switching positions, either, and Cam found himself confronted by someone who was just as willing to do as to have done. It was... not Hunter's typical role. He pushed again, and Hunter pushed back. Hard. He shoved Cam down, and Cam was left to blink up at the shadow above him in surprise. When had Hunter started taking lessons from--well, him?

This time, when Hunter ground their hips together there was nothing in between. Cam's head came up, but that was as far as he got before hands on his shoulders pressed him back down. Hunter didn't stop moving, his rhythm aggravatingly slow and too drawn out to appease the hunger that had been growing ever since he pulled Cam's t-shirt off. Cam twisted his head to one side and closed his eyes, breath harsh in his ears, determined to ride out this building torture in any way he could. Hunter's hand closed around them both and he stiffened, jerking his head to the other side with a gasp.

"Hunter!" His back arched. He couldn't breathe, couldn't move, not enough--

Hunter didn't stop. Cam strained against him, drowning in sensation, beyond caring about anything but what Hunter was doing to him. He needed more, had to have more than this... and for once, it wasn't up to him. The words tumbled out of him with a gasp. "Hunter, please... harder--"

And he cried out as Hunter surged against him, heat pouring through the darkness, touch sparking between them as he gave himself up to the storm. It roared through him, a rush of intensity that fed on itself and consumed all other concerns. There was nothing but him, this feeling, and the person who was causing it.

His heart was thundering in his ears even as the sensation began to abate, draining out of him little by little and leaving him trembling in its wake. He could barely bring himself to shift enough to make room on the near side of the bed--Hunter's preferred side. He heard a wordless grunt of appreciation, felt the lazy weight of a lover who refused to go very far, and that was all the awareness he bothered with for some time.

He was light-headed, sleepy and half-dreaming by the time Hunter moved again. He mumbled in wordless protest, objecting not so much to the resettling of Hunter's body on the mattress next to him as to the fact that he had woken Cam to do it. Should he even be sleeping now? He had the nagging feeling that there was something he was supposed to be doing, but it was the middle of the night. Even head teachers were allowed to sleep.

"Awake?" Hunter asked, very softly, and Cam took it back. Some head teachers were allowed to sleep. When they weren't being pounced upon, seduced, or otherwise kept awake by their fellow head teachers.

"No," he muttered, deciding those other head teachers didn't know what they were missing. "Dreaming. But it's a pretty good dream," he admitted grudgingly, trying to stifle a yawn.

Hunter's murmur of agreement made him smile. He moved a little, and remembered why they were both crowded onto this side of the bed. He subsided, eyes still closed, and sighed silently. Here was good too.

"You never..." Hunter's whisper drifted to him in the darkness. "Asked for it, before."

Hunter's voice wasn't teasing, or even curious. It was careful, maybe a little tentative, as though he was trying very hard not to sound obnoxious. During the day, it was hard to convince Hunter that he came across as obnoxious at all, let alone force an admission that he did it on purpose. But here, where it was just them... he went out of his way to open up. It made Cam feel like he mattered.

And the least he could do was reciprocate. "I never had to," he told the darkness quietly. It was true. Hunter had always let him do whatever he wanted in bed, and while he had tried very hard not to abuse that trust, he had never had to return it until tonight.

"Yeah." Hunter hesitated. "About that..."

That was a loaded statement if Cam had ever heard one. He waited.

"Was it--okay?" Hunter asked finally.

The question made Cam's mouth quirk, and he waited until he could answer without a hint of amusement in his voice. There was something vaguely insincere about "yes," whether it was the truth or not, and he wasn't about to go into just how much he'd liked it. Which left him with a rhetorical question that he hoped wasn't quite as embarrassing as it felt.

"Would I have begged if it wasn't?" he muttered.

There was no answer, but a moment later he felt the gentle swipe of a tongue tracing the outline of his ear and a kiss pressed against his skin. He couldn't help smiling to himself. Embarrassing, maybe. Worth it, definitely.

His awareness drifted again, succumbing slowly to the haze of sleep. It was a comfortable lassitude, one punctuated by Hunter's occasional shift and the warm but restless presence of someone sleeping too close. He was too tired to care. He didn't want to move, and in all truth, he didn't want Hunter to go anywhere either. He was just as happy to wake up every five minutes, knowing that morning was a long way off yet and he didn't have to do anything but lie here and doze.

The screech of an alarm made him bolt upright, startled to feel someone beside him and utterly unable to identify the sound. The lack of comprehension lasted several seconds, until he heard Hunter groan and suddenly he remembered. Hunter was here. He hadn't planned to stay the night. And that alarm signaled the beginning of their scheduled attack drill.

He didn't know whether his father was going to be amused or horrified. He didn't have time to worry about it, either. Not when he was supposed to be out there already, and Hunter was making it abundantly clear what he thought about the circumstances.

"You've gotta be freakin' kidding me," Hunter groused, his shadow already fumbling in the dark of a room he didn't know quite as instinctively as Cam did. But he heard a dresser drawer slide open as he pulled his t-shirt over his head, and fleece sweats landed next to him a moment later. Hunter had irritatingly good aim even when he couldn't see.

"You had an attack drill tonight?" Hunter continued, slamming the drawer shut. Cam was on his feet, heading for the living room. "You couldn't have told me about that?"

"I forgot." He had reached the door by the time Hunter caught up, yanking his shirt on as he went. "Didn't think you were coming," he added over his shoulder, "and I was kind of distracted when you did show up."

"Oh, right," Hunter scoffed, catching the door and managing to stay right behind Cam as they made their way through a hallway that was discharging teachers right and left. "So this is all my fault?"

"Yes," Cam said, raising his voice to be heard over the general chaos. "Tori!"

Blonde curls and glittering black spun toward him at the bottom of the stairwell. They weren't the only ones not in uniform, despite the fact that most of the teachers had known about the drill for days. He really hoped it would make a difference. Having the head teacher of the Wind Academy running around campus in sweats during a supposed "attack" was not going to do anything for his image.

"Did you pass the perimeter guards on your way in?" he demanded. She nodded, and he caught a flicker of red out of the corner of his eye. "Ash!" The air ninja backtracked immediately, and Cam told him, "You and Tori go out through the holographic entrance. I want a simulated diversion as fast as you can do it, to see if we can disrupt the organization of counterattack units."

Tori and Ash exchanged glances, nodding to each other. "You got it," Ash answered. Cam had meant to set that up earlier, before the alarm actually sounded, but it looked like they would just have to improvise.

"Nice pajamas," Tori added, backing away as Ash made for the door.

Cam looked down automatically. He knew what he was wearing. Tori had teased him about the crimson eyes glaring out over top of a sword slash before. Killer coding ninja monkeys do exist. "Funny," he told her. She just smirked, turning to streak after Ash.

He glanced over at Hunter, who was apparently taking a headcount as teachers dashed outside. Dressed in navy sweats and a deep red t-shirt that had a cartoon bunny on it, he couldn't have looked less professional. The bunny was standing on its hind legs, paws over its ears with the words I'm not listening printed underneath. Catching Cam's eye, Hunter held up two fingers followed by four.

Cam nodded, jerking his head toward the door. That was everyone. As they shoved their way out into the night he could see teachers already falling into their designated defense, students rallying around dorm leaders... and off in the distance, a concussive boom that had to be Tori and Ash's staged diversion. He strode through a sea of elemental color, checking off each section in his mind and nodding in approval as one of the outer teacher contingents grabbed two perimeter guards and a group of upper level students to investigate.

Hunter stuck close to his side, his presence all the more obvious because of their rank. Cam caught the flicker of another Thunder Academy uniform among the students--but the students hadn't known what was happening tonight. He saw his father's distinctive energy signature from up ahead, marking their impromptu center of command, and he sighed a little as he altered his course. It could be months before he lived this down.