"Okay, where the hell are we going? I thought you said we were going out to eat? I wore my best Chinos for this so-called date, they're getting ruined."
"We are."
Killian rolled up his pants for the hundredth time in the space that they'd been walking to their destination, the Chinos were now up to his thighs, the fact that they hadn't been torn by his muscles by now, was a miracle.
"What, are you gonna slaughter a rabbit for me or something?" He pressed.
West inclined his head to scowl at Killian, who was walking behind him. "That's disgusting and wrong."
"Then, why are we walking through the woods? Are you gonna slaughter me, instead? Or push me off Mount East?"
"What--"
"Is this about the time I was mean to you and stuff? Cause I really am sorry. I honestly don't feel like dying today, can we just go back?"
West stopped in his tracks and turned back, a fleeting second later, he found himself chest to chest with Killian, who had accidentally bumped into him because his focus was more on his clothes, and being killed in the woods, than watching where he was going. He had originally planned to tell him to shut his mouth, but West found himself gazing at Killian's face, particularly his lips. He still remembered how soft they felt against his. It may have been an unwanted kiss, but it was still a kiss.
Killian, on the other hand, was still trying to register what was happening, but West stepped back before he could even comprehend it.
"We're almost there."
Killian wiped the beads of sweat that had formed on his forehead, then cleared his throat, "There, where?"
"You'll see." West smirked. He held out his hand for Killian to hold on to.
Killian looked at West's outstretched arm, then grinned, "Don't mind if I do."
He grabbed West's hand then intertwined their fingers. They continued walking hand in hand until they reached a small clearing next to the lake.
Killian immediately gasped when he saw the whole setting. "You did all this?"
"Had a little help, but yeah. Do you like it? Or is it too much?"
West had filled the carrier of Paul's truck with blankets and pillows so they could be cozy and comfortable while stargazing. There was also a campfire burning next to the lake, West had found the perfect spot with a view of Mount East and the rest of Easton's forestry. They had tons of snacks and sweet treats, too. West had bought a week's worth, mainly because didn't know what to get, so he got everything.
"It's amazing, I--"
"Thank God, you guys are here. I was literally about to eat all your food." Brittany exclaimed as she emerged from the inside of Paul's truck. She had helped West set the whole place up earlier, then volunteered to watch their stuff while he fetched Killian.
"Thanks for not eating all our food, I guess." West responded in a sarcastic tone.
At the mention of food, Killian hurried to the cooler placed by the side of the truck and started rummaging for snacks.
Brittany bowed exaggeratedly before faking a horrible British accent. "Twas a pleasure."
"And thanks for helping. Will you be fine heading home on your own? It's getting pretty dark."
"Please. I have a Black Belt in Taekwondo."
"No..." West frowned,"You don't."
Brittany glared at West, she often wondered how they were even friends. She snatched a thin tree branch from the ground, then shoved it in West's face, "I have a stick."
"Just be careful, okay?"
"And you be safe!" She gave West a knowing wink which made him blush, then ran off into the night.
"Thanks for all this." Killian said as he approached West with a packet of crisps in his hands. "I've never... gone camping before."
There was a slight change in Killian's tone when he said that last part, but he brushed it off before West could notice.
"Of course."
West took in Killian's pants, they had dirt all over them, and they were a quarter to ripping. "If you want, I could borrow you my joggers, they're over there, somewhere." He offered as he pointed to his dad's pick up truck.
"Yeah, thanks."
West always kept a spare tee and pants in his, and his dad's truck, he didn't know why, it just became a habit over the years. He riffled through one of his many night bags until he found a pair of grey joggers. "Catch."
Killian caught them, then instantly started unbuttoning his pants.
"You're changing... here?"
"Yeah, problem?"
"No. I'll just... look the other way, then." He was about to turn away, when Killian commented.
"You don't have to. I have nothing to hide."
"I can see that."
West watched as Killian deliberately took his time, He slowly slid the pants down his legs, then paused to wink at a stunned West. He repeated the same slow motion act when he slipped the joggers on. "Take a picture, it'll last longer."
West shook his head to step out of his trance, then retrieved his phone from his back pocket. "Or we could take one together?"
"I don't really take pictures that much, but what the heck? YOLO."
"Please don't say YOLO ever again."
West snapped a quick picture of the both of them with his phone's shitty front camera. The picture was blurry, and the lighting wasn't that great; the fact that neither of them were smiling made it look even creepier. Killian snatched the phone from West's hands to take a look. "Oh my God, that's horrifying. Delete."
"Nope."
This is my new screensaver. As creepy as it looks.
West sensed that Killian was about to grumble, so he changed the topic completely. "Care for a fire-grilled, grilled cheese sandwich?"
"Yes! I'm starving."
He got out two sandwiches wrapped in foil from the cooler. He then put one of the sandwiches in-between a double spatula then held it over the fire. The smell of toasted bread and melting cheese made Killian drool, he hadn't eaten all day, after all. He had been too nervous to even think about food.
"How do you know how to do all this? Were you a boy scout?"
"Nope, I consulted the interwebs."
"You did not just say 'interwebs'."
West laughed, then put the sandwich on a paper plate before handing it to Killian.
"Aren't you having a sandwich?"
"I'm in the mood for a hotdog on a stick. We could do smores for dessert if you'd like."
Killian crept closer to West on the towel they were sitting on beside the fire and lowered his voice to a seductive whisper. "Is that all you want to 'Do'?"
West's mouth opened and closed a few times, he couldn't get used to Killian's boldness. He always managed to find a double meaning to everything West said.
"No, that is not all I want to 'Do', but we'll have plenty of time to 'Do' stuff, perhaps when we're not in the middle of the woods."
Our first time should be special... West finished off in his mind.
"Don't worry. I get it."
Killian made a lot of sexual comments, but most of the time, they were just that - comments. He still hadn't completely gotten over what Steven did to him. Intimacy with another guy was not in the cards for him. At least not at that very moment.
West removed the sausage from the fire, then wrapped a bun around it before taking a huge bite, which was practically half of his hotdog. Killian finished off his grilled cheese sandwich, then rubbed his belly in satisfaction.
"That was magnificent."
West took one last bite before leaning back on his arms, He glanced over at Killian, who still had a satisfied look on his face, along with some bread crumbs.
"You've got... a little something on your cheek."
"Oh."
West pointed to his own cheek, hoping it would give Killian some direction because he was practically wiping at nothing. "Right here."
Killian tried to wipe away the crumbs, but he still couldn't see them.
"I'll get it." He grasped Killian's chin and tilted his head with one hand, then gently cleaned his cheek with the other, all the while, Killian's eyes were boring into his very soul.
"Careful, West. First you lent me your joggers, which I'm keeping, by the way, now you're wiping crumbs off my cheeks? If you keep this up, I might actually think you like me..."
West's face turned crimson and he dropped his hands, lowering his eyes to the crackling fire in front of them. He had planned to tell Killian how he felt at the end of the night, but seeing as he was now on the spot...
"I do like you, Killian." He revealed. "I just... things were still a bit complicated back then. I was trying to run away from who I really was, and I got pretty far, if I do say so myself. But as always, you caught up to me. From the very first day we met... at that party, I felt something. Mostly annoyance... cause I knew you were gonna turn my life upside down. It's not that I was happy with the life I had before, it was just... in my comfort zone, minus the things that were happening at home with my dad. That was also an issue, though. My dad... I won't get into details, you already know most of it. But I'm past that, and I just want to be who I was destined to be, and I'd love to have you by my side... if you'll have me."
"Took you long enough."
"Great answer." West drawled with a roll of his eyes.
"You already know what my answer is, Weston. I want you, It's always been you."
Killian wrapped an arm around West's shoulder, and pulled him close. A hug was a simple gesture, but this one felt different, West's touch had always sent Sparks through Killian's body, but this one completely set him on fire. Maybe it was because he was certain that West returned his affections, or perhaps it was the feeling of the beginning of a new love.
"Wanna go skinny-dipping?" Killian asked as he pulled away.
"Are you sure you're ready to see all of me?" West countered in a cocky tone.
"I'll see you sooner or later."
"That may be true." West stripped down to his underwear, and Killian did the same, upon seeing the large bulge in his underwear, he freaked. West's size was pretty impressive, but Killian's put his to shame. "On second thought... I don't think I'm ready to see all of you."
Killian looked down at his boxers, then smirked. The Gods had been very kind to him when they crafted his body. "If you say so."
They spent almost an hour in the water, laughing and splashing at each other, then dried up by the fire.
West got out more blankets and laid them on the carrier of Paul's truck so they could rest for the night. He made sure to put the pillows next to each other so that he'd be closer to Killian for the rest of night.
--
"I hope you're not a blanket hoarder." West mumbled as he reached for the fifth blanket.
"We don't even need this many... fire's still burning."
"It could burn out."
"If it does, then it'll give us an excuse to spoon. Matter of fact, I hope it burns out."
"We don't need an excuse to do that." West got off his back and sat up, elongating his arms so that Killian could lay on his chest.
Killian stared at West's arms, and then... his face fell. There was still something he needed to say, something he should've said to West, but couldn't, weeks ago.
"What's wrong?"
"I still haven't apologized... for kissing you."
West shook his head, and reached out to hold Killian's hand. "It's okay..."
"No, it's not. I knew what problems you were dealing with at home, I knew about how Steven forced himself on you, and yet, I did the exact same thing he did. I was just so happy you finally came to one of my games that I... reacted badly, I guess. I really am sorry."
"That wasn't a bad reaction, it was just... really unexpected for me. And you're nothing like Steven, don't ever think like that again."
Killian nodded, then stuck his hands under the blankets to pull off the joggers (Cause he never slept with pants on), he then threw them over West's head.
West chuckled, then removed the joggers from the top of his head, only to throw them in Killian's face.
Killian sniffed the pants, then pushed away the pant leg that was covering his eye. "Smells like you."
"Yeah? And what do I smell like?"
"Uh, lavender fabric softener, cigarettes, and cheap cologne."
"I do not wear cheap cologne."
"Yeah? What cologne do you use?"
"Tommy Hilfiger."
"My point, exactly."
West released a soulful laugh that sent vibrations through his chest and Killian felt his heart squeeze. He suddenly felt the urge to huddle closer to West and get into his arms, once again.
"I had a great time tonight."
"Me too." West agreed, "What was your favorite part?"
Killian placed a hand over his mouth to suppress a yawn, then lifted his head from West's chest so he could see his face. "When you wooed me with that awesome pick up line."
"What pick up line?"
"You know the one." Killian murmured, he was getting sleepier by the second.
"That wasn't a pick up line, that was me being honest with myself, and you."
"Well, your not-pickup line was the best pick up line I've ever heard."
"And what's the worst you've ever heard?" West inquired. He'd never had to use pick up lines before, mainly because he'd dated a total of two people in his life, and they were the ones who approached him, they also didn't use pick up lines, a simple 'Hello' did the trick. And that was only because West was actually into them.
"Uh... 'I lost my number, could I have yours?', or, 'If you were a booger, I'd pick you first'."
"Gross", West grimaced. "Oh, I have one... How about... 'Are your legs tired? Because you've been running through my mind all day long'."
Killian wrinkled his nose at the cheesy line, "Did somebody use that on you?"
"On Brittany, she just told me about it the next day."
"It's horrible."
"Yeah. But, I've heard worse." West paused, then tilted his head skywards as if trying to recall a certain moment in time. He smiled when he found what he was looking for in his memories.
"This one takes the Cake, I think you're familiar with this one. 'You must really like walls, this is like, the second wall I've seen you leaned up against, tonight.' Did I get that right?"
"Killian?"
West lowered his eyes to the boy who was resting on his chest. He called out his name again, but Killian was already fast asleep. He kissed the top of his tousled blonde hair, then sighed in content, before closing his eyes, and escaping to Dreamland. But it wouldn't be much of an escape, his dreams were already a reality.
______________________________