Kelly had seemed surprised to see him. He supposed he shouldn't let that annoy him--after all, how often was he here? It had nothing to do with him being in town on something that wasn't Ranger business... exactly. She didn't even know what he did with his spare time. She was just surprised to see him in a sport shop. Her sport shop.

Hunter's sport shop. He was sure Kelly wouldn't appreciate the possessive, but Cam was definitely out of his element here. And not just out of his element, but definitely in Hunter's. There was the distinct and uncomfortable feeling of stepping into someone else's territory.

He wondered suddenly if Hunter felt the same way when he entered Ninja Ops.

The only good part was that he wasn't actually inside. Kelly had directed Cam out back, to the alley where the van was parked, and that meant no reinforcements. Granted, Hunter's "reinforcements" typically consisted of Blake, and Blake was safely occupied with Tori at the moment, but Cam was quite sure that he didn't want an audience right now. If at all possible, he would approach Hunter without even Hunter himself as a witness, but such a scenario involved technical problems.

It was Hunter's day off. He should be at the track, but instead he was crouched down next to his bike in the shadow of the Storm Chargers' van, tinkering with something hidden from Cam's view. Cam couldn't help wondering if he was here because Dustin would be at the track. He couldn't be avoiding the entire team... could he?

"Hey," he said, when Hunter didn't look up at the sound of the door or his footsteps. "Kelly said you'd be out here."

Hunter didn't start, stiffen, or even so much as move his head to acknowledge Cam's words. Didn't he usually work on his bike inside? Good advertising for the shop, or something like that? Cam wasn't sure, but he thought Hunter's choice of location was unusual--he just didn't want to think too much about the reason behind it.

Then, his mind inquired reasonably, why are you here?

"You missed practice today," he said loudly, talking over the voice in his head. That was why he was here. Someone had to hold Hunter accountable, after all. "Dad wondered where you were."

There was no response. Hunter just kept doing whatever he was doing. Cam might as well have not been there.

He shifted uncomfortably, a little curious about what could hold Hunter's undivided attention for so long. "Blake said you weren't feeling well," he offered. He thought he saw Hunter's head turn just a fraction at the sound of Blake's name.

"Look," Cam said with a sigh. "You can't avoid Ninja Ops forever. It's not like anyone bought your little 'sick day' excuse--not with the way Blake was glaring. I think he would have tied me up and handed me over to Lothor himself if I'd given him the chance."

Hunter twisted around to reach for something, his eyes traveling up Cam's frame to his face as though he was surprised to see him standing there. "I'm sorry," he said, with a sneer that belied his words. "Did you want something?"

Cam's patience snapped. "Where do you get off, acting like this is all my fault! You kissed my clone, Hunter!"

Hunter was on his feet and in Cam's face faster than he could blink. It really was amazing how quickly someone that big could move when he was motivated. "Could you say that a little louder," Hunter demanded, "because I don't think they heard you in Angel Grove!"

He was happy to oblige. "You kissed my clone!" Cam shouted. He was determined not to let Hunter's proximity fluster him, but he could already see it would be a losing battle. He couldn't meet Hunter's eyes, gaze skittering away every time he tried, and if he could have backed up without losing face he would have done it in a second.

"I didn't kiss your damn 'clone,'" Hunter said crossly. It was hard to tell whether he was more annoyed by Cam's words or his volume. "I kissed you, and if you didn't like it you could have said something!"

"You didn't know it was me," Cam insisted, since there was no way he was going near that last statement.

"Bullshit," Hunter snapped. "You know how many times CyberCam's come on to me? Wait--let me think--never. I knew it was you the second you shouted at me for crashing the bike. I just didn't want to believe it."

Indignant and only one step away from truly horrified, Cam exclaimed, "I didn't come on to you! And if you knew it was me, why didn't you say something? The only reason I went along with that stupid charade was to keep you from being embarrassed!"

For the first time, that gave Hunter pause. "Excuse me?" he said dangerously.

"You obviously didn't want everyone to know what you told CyberCam--me, when you thought I was CyberCam," he amended hastily. "I tried to tell you who I was, but you didn't listen. So I figured it'd be easier to just keep your secret and let you think whatever you wanted."

Hunter rolled his eyes. "You didn't try to tell me who you were," he scoffed. "You started in with the 'yo' thing the moment I came in."

"I was being sarcastic," Cam informed him. "You do know what sarcasm is, right?"

"After knowing you I could write a book," Hunter shot back.

"But you still can't recognize it when you hear it?" Cam demanded. "What part of 'Cam's right here' did you not get? Was it the part where I was Cam, or the part where I was right there? Because it seemed pretty clear to me!"

"I think it was the part where you were calling me 'bro,'" Hunter snapped. "There was also 'dude,' 'yo,' and--what was the phrase? Oh yeah: 'babe magnet!' Not your standard vocabulary!"

In retrospect, maybe "babe magnet" had been uncalled for. But the reminder made him look, an assessing glance that flicked over Hunter before he could stop it. So quick that when their eyes met again he couldn't even remember what he had seen, except that he had been left with the impression that outright staring would not be out-of-place.

Not quick enough. Hunter was glaring at him, obviously having caught the look and just as obviously having misinterpreted it. "What was that for?"

Irritation flared again. "What, you're allowed to check me out and I'm not even supposed to notice?" He couldn't believe he'd just said that aloud, but it irked him to think that Hunter could have been staring at him for longer than he knew. What did he think when he did? Had anyone else noticed?

"Cut the crap," Hunter snarled. "I hate to break it to you, but you're just not funny when you're freaked out of your mind. Why don't you go back to practice, or Ninja Ops, or anywhere that isn't where I am, and we'll call it even."

"Who says I'm freaked out?" Cam demanded, bristling. "You can bully the others all you want, but you won't get rid of me so easily!"

Hunter was tall enough to loom over anyone he wanted to, and he was doing it right now--on purpose, Cam was sure. He couldn't even look at Hunter without looking up, and it was getting annoying. Especially since he didn't seem to have any problem staring Cam down, and Cam could barely meet his gaze without flinching.

"You're totally freaked out," Hunter declared. Was it Cam's imagination, or did he actually sound a little disappointed? His followup was grudging at best, like he didn't want to say it but was doing it for Cam's own good. "It'd be a lot easier if you'd just let me avoid you."

That was true. And why didn't he? Some sense of moral obligation? He felt the need to apologize for deceiving Hunter? He hadn't done that, so if that was his excuse he wasn't exactly making it plausible. Since when did he need an excuse, anyway? Maybe he wanted to see Hunter just because--

He wanted to see Hunter? Well, that was an unpleasant and decidedly unwelcome realization. Especially when Hunter was turning away, going back to his bike as though Cam was no longer worth his attention. And suddenly Cam was free to stare.

Hunter was... not hard to look at. Okay. So? He knew that. And maybe the idea that guys were attractive wasn't a completely foreign one. But... the idea that a guy would find him attractive? A guy like Hunter? It was out there. It was ridiculous. It was more like a joke than a serious possibility.

It was... not a totally unappealing thought.

"You know," Hunter said over his shoulder. "Me avoiding you kind of involves you not being where I am."

"Actually," Cam said without thinking, "that would be me avoiding you."

"Yeah, about that." Hunter paused long enough to look at him, a frown making his eyes even harder to read. "Why aren't you?"

"I don't know." It was the truth, but he shouldn't have blurted it out like that. Hunter kept him off-balance, but normally he had the familiarity of Ninja Ops to cover his uncertainty. Today he was out of his depth--in more ways than one.

"You don't know because you have better things to do?" Hunter pressed, his eyes hooded. "Or you don't know because..." He stopped. His frown deepened, and he looked away.

Hunter wasn't going to pretend it hadn't happened. It should have occurred to him sooner, but he had been so busy not looking at Hunter that he hadn't realized what Hunter wasn't doing. He wasn't ignoring him. He wasn't making fun of him. He actually seemed... well, almost as uncomfortable as Cam felt. If that was possible.

"I don't know," Cam repeated. Something about Hunter's awkwardness gave him the confidence to ask. "Why did you...?"

A corner of Hunter's mouth quirked when he trailed off, but he didn't take his eyes off of Cam. "I don't know," he echoed defiantly. Despite his tone, he was still watching... waiting.

Cam didn't know what to say to that. He shrugged a little, gaze dropping. "Right," he told the ground. "Well--sorry to bother you."

Hunter didn't say anything.

Cam started to turn away, stopped. "You hungry?" he blurted out, staring at the van instead of at Hunter.

"Not really." Hunter's reply was guarded, but there was a hint of amusement behind it that annoyed Cam. He was about to walk away when Hunter continued, "Why? You offering?"

Cam shifted uncomfortably, refusing to look at him. "I'm just--going to get some lunch. Since I'm out anyway. I thought maybe you could use a break too."

"Cam." That was all he said, just his name, and finally Cam turned around. He caught Hunter's eye, saw his expression lighten. He was still totally unprepared for Hunter's next question. "You asking me out?"

"No," Cam said defensively. It was automatic, and Hunter just raised an eyebrow in his direction. "Maybe," he muttered after a moment.

"Yeah." Hunter looked like he was trying not to grin. "That's what I thought."

There was nothing but silence. Finally, Cam couldn't stand it. "Well?" he demanded.

"Sure," Hunter said, as casually as though he hadn't hesitated a second. "Just let me clean up here." Apparently as an afterthought, he added, "You know, you're cute when you squirm."

Disconcerted, it took Cam a moment to catch on. Of course. Hunter's payback for the "CyberCam" incident. The teasing was mitigated by his ultimate answer, and frankly overwhelmed by uncertainty that hadn't eased with Hunter's agreement. He supposed if that was all the grief he got over it, he had gotten off lightly.

Somehow, though, he didn't think he'd heard the end of this yet.