the best laid plans of mice and men (Power Rangers: Ninja Storm, Cam/Hunter, Blake)
Meh. I've been working on this fic since March. I'm considering it finished now. Unbeta'd so please point out any mistakes/constructive criticisms. Thank you.
Title: the best laid plans of mice and men
Rating: PG-13
Fandom: Power Rangers: Ninja Storm
Pairing/Characters: Cam/Hunter, Blake/Tori, OFC
Summary: In which Blake schemes and Hunter and Cam finally define their relationship.
Disclaimer: PR: NS © BVS Entertainment, Inc. and BVS International N.V. No copyright infringement intended.
Warnings: none
Notes: title shamelessly stolen from Robert Burns' poem To a Mouse, 1786
Word count: 3,874
~*~
Storm Chargers, Blue Bay Harbor, California
It was becoming a regular thing for Cam to hang around the sports store, and if you asked Blake, he’d tell you it was turning just plain weird. He didn’t think it was Cam’s kind of hangout but then he just chalked it up to Cam wanting to hang out with them no matter where they were. But still, weird.
Of course, Blake’s other theory was that Cam was secretly just hanging around his brother, and not all of them, which sprouted many other questions that Blake had no answers to. As it was, Blake was catching onto the fact just recently that Hunter and Cam hung out an awful lot without the others around. He didn’t know what that meant exactly, but it had to be something important.
He might have gone on wondering for who knew how long if Tori hadn’t suddenly befriended a new girl in school.
~*~
Anna was the new girl in school whose father was in the military and currently stationed in California. She and Tori started hanging out so much after school that Blake was starting to miss his girlfriend, which was kind of a ludicrous thought as they were Power Rangers together and trained everyday, but there it was.
Bringing this up with Tori only made her smile at him. (He wasn’t jealous though, no matter what she said. He didn’t begrudge her having other friends beside him and the other Power Rangers.)
“What about going on a double-date,” she asked him one afternoon sitting on his bike.
“That would be a solution.”
“Oh, but wait, Anna doesn’t have a boyfriend to double-date with.” Tori scrunched up her face, trying to think of something else.
Blake smirked, his brain already coming up with a plan. If Hunter wouldn’t tell him what was going on with him and Cam, then Hunter totally wouldn’t mind helping out his brother and going out on a date with a girl, would he?
“Don’t worry,” he told Tori confidently, “I think I have the perfect guy for Anna.”
~*~
Storm Chargers, Blue Bay Harbor, California, the next day
Blake was surreptitiously watching his brother and Cam. They weren’t doing anything except talking in low voices over at the counter and looking at a magazine. But it was the fact that they had their heads bent close together and would stop talking whenever someone walked over to them that made Blake suspicious. If it was Power Ranger business he could understand, but it didn’t make sense that they’d stop talking if it was either Tori, Dustin, Shane or him who walked over to them.
Anna and Tori walked in then, Tori catching his eye and giving him a small wave.
Perfect. Time for Operation: Get Hunter to Be Honest With Him.
“Hey, bro, wanna do me a favor?” Of course the moment Blake walked up to his brother and Cam, they clammed up.
“What’s up?”
“Tori has this awesome friend, Anna and I was wondering if you wanted to double-date with me and Tori? Make her not feel like a third wheel?”
Hunter scratched at the back of his neck nervously. “Uh, you know blind dates are so not my thing…”
“But, dude, she’d be perfect for you! She loves motor cross, and pretty much every sport out there, and she's new, so you could show her around. Plus, she's really beautiful, just ask Tori.”
He looked from Hunter to Cam, but neither of them gave anything away.
“I really can’t go on this blind-date, Blake.”
“Why not?”
“Because.”
“Because why?”
“Just because.”
“That’s not an answer and you know it.”
Hunter shrugged. “It’s the only one I can give right now.”
Not that he thought Hunter would pour his heart out to him, but this was a little disappointing. It wasn't that Blake cared who his brother was dating, whether that was a girl or Cam (though he really couldn't understand it - Cam, really? - on the whole, he didn't care, as long as his brother was happy). Some would say then that with this attitude of his, it didn't really make sense for him to try to trick his brother into admitting he was dating Cameron Watanabe. Why not just ask Hunter himself? Well, that's how he'd approach any normal person who knew how to talk about what he was feeling, but he knew his brother. If he just came out and asked what he was so curious about, he'd never find out the truth. That was just how his brother was. If he didn't already know from Hunter himself, asking outright would just make Hunter defensive and close in on himself.
So he had to approach this carefully and, unfortunately for Blake, that meant going about it in a roundabout way. Blake was thinking maybe he could wear down his brother, and it'd probably help if they were alone and not talking about this in front of Cam, or the others - who technically weren't listening, but they all had good hearing.
Cam, who had been curiously silent up until now, said, “She does sound perfect for Hunter. You really should go out with her.”
Blake was confused for a minute that Cam seemed to be siding with him, but he shrugged it off. It was probably pretend on Cam's side to throw Blake off his suspicions. It might've worked too but Blake was a power ranger and he saw all those secretive, too long touches and looks they thought no one noticed. Yeah, nothing was getting by him.
Hunter though looked hurt at Cam's suggestion.
Well, it was no big loss to Blake in the grand scheme of things, although this didn't confirm anything either way. He just wished his brother would trust him enough to tell him. “So you really don't want to go out with her?” Blake was talking to Hunter, but Hunter was intensely looking at Cam.
“No, I don't.”
That sounded definitive so Blake left them alone. He wasn't getting the truth out of Hunter and it was probably for the best. Maybe he could get Shane or Dustin to go out with Anna.
~*~
Ninja Ops, Wind Academy, Blue Bay Harbor, California
“What did you mean this afternoon?”
And that was how Hunter snuck into his room, sitting on the edge of his bed; no ‘hi’, or ‘may I come in?’ or ‘can we talk?’ He knew the conversation was going to come up at one point or another, he just didn’t expect it to be right that night, mere hours after Blake and Hunter left to do whatever they did back at their apartment. Clearly, he should’ve expected the unexpected, lord knew Hunter was the least predictable of the two of them in this relationship - or friends with benefits arrangement, whatever you wanted to call it.
He rolled over onto his back, giving up on the pretense of sleeping. Hunter wasn’t buying it and the sooner they had this talk, the better he’d finally feel - in theory.
“I just meant, I could see why Blake would say she’d be perfect for you and I thought you should go out with her.”
“You haven't met her yet! And, more importantly, I don’t think she's perfect for me.”
Cam sighed. Hunter was a stubborn person, alright. “But if everyone else thinks she’s perfect for you, she must be, and you just aren’t seeing it.”
“You stubborn - didn’t you just hear what I said? Who cares what they think? And you're exaggerating, it was just Blake that thinks that. And I can see who’s perfect for me even if they are being stubborn dickwads about it.”
“Oh that’s nice - throw insults.”
“I’m only throwing insults because you are being a fucking idiot.”
That set Cam’s teeth on edge. It wasn’t like he was the one seeking out Hunter to have this talk. How could Hunter not see that he wasn’t trying to be an idiot on purpose - that this hurt him? To admit that he can’t be openly affectionate with Hunter or to kiss him or to have their friends speculate on who Hunter would be perfect with when all the time his mind is screaming that Hunter is perfect with him? That despite him saying that this meant nothing more than two friends having some fun, he had fallen in love with Hunter somewhere along the way?
“Look,” Hunter sidled up to him, arm going around his waist protectively and nose diving into the back of his neck - for some strange reason, Hunter loved burying his nose into Cam’s skin, “if you’re thinking that you aren’t perfect for me, then stop that fucking crazy train before it leaves the tracks.”
“Well, I’m certainly not your type.” He could have forced that to sound less bitter than it did, honestly, but he was tired and having Hunter this close to him, warm and comforting in the darkness, was making him lose the little bit of control he was limply hanging onto.
“I’m not your type, what’s your point?”
It was so not fair that Hunter could nuzzle him while having a deeply serious conversation. How was Cam supposed to remain objective and clear-minded? Obviously, they should’ve been having this conversation out of bed, and preferably in the daylight, when he was less vulnerable and less prone to saying stuff he’d regret later.
“All I’m saying - oh,” there went Hunter’s hand under his shirt, stroking his stomach and he seriously had to remember to not talk to Hunter about anything important while the other man was putting moves on him, "is you’re this tall, blonde, hunk, who’s pretty much got all the babes lining up left, right, and center, and I just can’t imagine what you’re doing with me." Way to be pathetic there, Cam, his mind shot out traitorously.
The dead silence that followed this admission was disheartening and was made more so when Hunter stopped his stroking, moving away from Cam.
“I see.” Hunter said cryptically.
Cam seriously doubted that. He couldn’t explain all his neuroses even to himself, yet to say that would break the thin ice he was already treading on. He didn’t want to admit to any of it but somehow, under the cover of darkness, it was easier to talk to Hunter.
The silence seemed to go on forever. He could see Hunter’s silhouette outlined from the light of the moon outside the window. Hunter had his arms crossed over his chest, no doubt scowling in the darkness - probably at Cam.
“Don’t be angry,” Cam said, trying to salvage whatever he had broken. He knew he shouldn’t have opened his mouth but both Blake’s comment this afternoon and Anna pushed him over the edge.
“Don’t be angry? Who shouldn’t I be angry at? You? Blake? You know, Cam, you have this aura of aloofness, that you don’t care - that all we’re doing here is having sex - granted fucking fantastic sex - but that’s as far as it goes. We might be team mates when it comes to saving Blue Bay Harbor from Lother and his minions but we sure as hell aren’t in a relationship. And that’s so fucking unfair because…” Hunter seemed to run out of steam, voice going soft.
“It’s unfair because what?”
“Nothing.” Hunter untangled himself from the sheets and stood up. “I should go.” Hunter reached for what Cam thought was his shirt.
And a fear like Cam had never known before, not even when Lothor attacked them or sent new monsters, seized him. If he let Hunter go now, this thing between them - whatever it was - would be over and he couldn’t - no, he wouldn’t - let that happen. No matter what else transpired between them tonight, he had to still remain friends with Hunter.
Even though Cam loved him, he couldn’t say it. So he settled for the next best thing. “No, please, stay.” He reached out to grab Hunter’s arm to lead him back into bed.
“I - I just don’t understand you sometimes, Cam.” Hunter said, resigned, but came back to lie down on the bed.
“I don’t understand me sometimes either.”
Hunter gave a small chuckle. “At least that’s something we have in common, right?”
The only thing, sadly, Cam thought. “I do care about you - I don’t think we’re just team mates, well, I hope we’re not just team mates but this is extremely difficult for me.”
“What’s difficult for you? You’re like a genius with everything.”
“Maybe with everything but emotions and relationships. I know I acted strange today. But it’s just because I…well, I don’t know how to express myself other than being sarcastic about something and this isn’t something I can be sarcastic about. It’s too…important.”
“You think what we have is important?” Hunter was close to him now, Cam could feel him breathing.
“Um, yes.” Cam blushed when he felt Hunter’s hands return to his stomach and got a nose full of blonde head.
“You have to talk to me, Cam, it’s the only way I’ll know how you feel.” Hunter goosed him before moving away and settling against the headboard so that he had his arms around Cam and Cam was lying against him.
“But what if you don’t want to hear how I feel?” Cam bit his lip, looking up at the darkened ceiling.
“I don’t think such a thing is possible.”
“But you don’t know that.”
“Cam, god, you are such a pessimist. OK, if you don’t believe me, I’ll start talking since I’ll look like a hypocrite if I say if you have to talk to me but I don’t do the same. And you might not want to hear this, but I’m just going to go and say it. Cam, you do hurt me - a lot because I fucking hate this. I hate that you think this is just us being fuck buddies because I’m fucking in love with you. And I want to be in a relationship with you because no one makes me feel like you do - like I want to hit you and make out with you at the same time.”
Cam was comfortable enough that he was dozing against Hunter but this made him sit up alert. “You’re in love with me?” he asked in an incredulous voice. He was trying very hard not to grin like a blubbering idiot but it was a losing battle.
“Yeah, I am.” Hunter sounded like he was waiting for something bad to happen. And right on the heels of Cam’s utter happiness that shot through him at that moment came a disturbing thought. Did Hunter not say he loved him before because he was afraid Cam didn’t love him?
Was Cam the biggest fool on the earth?
“OK, say something. You’re being awfully quiet.”
Hunter had put his heart on the line and, once Cam’s thudding heart stopped trying to rip through his chest to dance the rumba, the least he could was confess how he felt as well.
“Idiot,” he said. He grabbed Hunter's face and kissed him thoroughly.
“Wait, what?” Hunter broke the kiss, holding Cam at arm’s length.
“I’m in love with you too.” Cam bit his lip; there he said it. And now that he did, nothing horrible had happened so he had no idea why he didn’t utter those words sooner. It would’ve made him angst less.
“You do? That’s - that’s awesome. Really awesome.” Hunter pronounced before moving to tower over him, grinding against Cam. They kissed passionately, Hunter’s hands moving over his bare chest, tracing patterns. Cam could only hold on, not knowing if he was really dreaming or not. It seemed way too good to be true.
As good as the kissing was, there was something else that they hadn’t addressed that was making this kissing bittersweet between them. Hunter had told Cam he loved him and Cam should’ve been elated - and he was, don’t get him wrong; he was over the moon about it - but he still couldn’t help feeling like crap because Hunter loved him and no one would know. He couldn’t forgot this afternoon and, in light of Hunter’s confession, it made it all the more unbearable to think about if there would be a next time when Blake would suggest dating to Hunter.
Hunter rolled him onto his side, hooking one finger into Cam’s boxers and sliding them off. Soon they naked, and Hunter prepared and thrust into him with a wild abandon, each thrust emphasized by a squeeze of his nipples. Bringing himself to orgasm, Hunter didn’t pull out once he had finished but stayed inside Cam and kissed him all over his neck and shoulder blade. And Cam finally let go, releasing all his pent up emotions and shouted Hunter’s name.
After wards, Hunter cleaned them up and kissed him on the side of his forehead, nestling Cam into his side. But before Cam could fall asleep, he blurted, “I don't want us to be a secret anymore.”
And, in the still darkness, he felt Hunter wrap an arm around him, settling his legs in-between Cam's, and the weight was familiar and warm. “We'll tell everybody - but in the morning, sleep now.”
~*~
Cam woke up the next morning to find Hunter gone, which, while not unusual, made him unhappy. On the other hand, he was glad he didn’t have to face Hunter again so soon after last night. Last night - oh last night they went so far past the boundary of friends with benefits nothing but dust was left now. And that scared Cam. Would Hunter look at him any differently now that Cam poured his heart out to him? He guessed he’d just have to wait and see to find out.
He met his father in Ninja Ops for their daily meditation. That was another thing he wasn’t looking forward to all that much: telling his father about Hunter and him.
Cam didn’t think his father would disown him - not with Lothor and that fact that his father was stuck being a guinea pig for the foreseeable future, but they didn’t talk about this stuff - romance and love - like at all so who knew what his father would think? Maybe Senshi Watanabe was looking forward to having grandkids and here was Cam coming along to crush that dream? But if he didn’t tell his father, if he didn’t come out, then his heart would break all over again because he wanted the whole world to know how much head over heels in love he was with Hunter.
“Dad…” he began, trying not to look down at the cushion next to him, lest his courage leave him like wisps of smoke in a strong breeze. “I need to tell you something and I’m not sure how you’ll take it but I need to say it; it needs to be out in the open. So I’m just going to go ahead and say it…I’m…inarelationshipwithHunterandIreallyreallylovehim.” OK, so saying that last part in one breath, without stopping, might have seemed immaturish - his father was a ninja, of course he’d hear what Cam said, no matter how fast he said it, but hope sprung eternal and all that.
“I know, son.”
“Huh?”
“The fact that you and Hunter are in a relationship is not that surprising.”
“It’s not?” Cam winced. If his father wasn’t surprised then he and Hunter weren’t being as stealthily as they thought they were.
“Dear son, I believe everyone could see that you two were close, even from the beginning.”
“Everyone?” Was his father referring to what Cam thought he was referring to?
“Yes, son, I do believe everyone. We are all ninjas here.”
Yes. His father was referring to what Cam thought he was referring to. If he didn’t think it’d make him look undignified, he would have face planted straight into the floor and maybe kicked himself for good measure.
~*~
“So, did you know that we weren’t being as secretive as we thought? Because Blake, as he says, saw this coming from a mile away months ago and was really disappointed we didn’t tell him sooner.” Hunter came strolling in, coming to stand right behind the chair Cam was sitting in.
“I got that feeling when I told Dad this morning and all the reaction I got out of him was “Son, we all already know, so stop worrying about it as we haven’t disowned you for it yet.”
He thought Hunter would find it humorous, but the crimson ranger sucked in a breath and said, in an amazed tone, “You told your dad about us?”
That made Cam turn to look at Hunter. “Uh, yeah, I thought when we agreed last night to tell everyone that my dad was included.”
“I just thought you meant Tori, Blake, Dustin, and Shane. But to tell your dad…that’s huge. That means you were totally serious last night.” Hunter smiled shyly at him. Cam learned early on that for all the bravado and courage that Hunter possessed, and what seemed to be an insatiable urge for Cam, with all the flirting and touching they did in private, there was a part of Hunter that seemed to hold himself back - he was kind of like Cam in that regard. Cam’s self-esteem was so low that he didn’t think he deserved Hunter or Hunter’s love, and Hunter, Cam was shocked to realize last night, thought the same in regard to Cam.
Cam’s instance that this between them didn’t mean anything important had hurt not just Cam but Hunter too. Only difference was that Hunter had buried it so deeply inside him and locked it away because he wanted to be with Cam anyway he could get him.
Cam got out of his seat hastily, enveloping Hunter in a crushing hug. To think that his stupidity almost cost him this….
He felt, more than saw, Hunter’s confusion at the seemingly unprovoked public display of affection, but he just held on tighter, Hunter returning the gesture immediately.
A cough startled them apart and Cam looked to see his father staring at them from his little made up guinea pig house.
“I believe we have training to start.”
“Yes, sorry, Sensei.” Hunter let go of Cam, looking embarrassed. Cam, for his part, couldn’t stop grinning. He really was a sappy romantic - not that he’d ever admit it out loud.
“Oh, Hunter, if you hurt my son, I’d be very careful to sleep with one eye open.” Sensei Watanabe used his ninja powers to flip himself from his made-up miniature house to the floor, bounding out of the room.
Cam looked back at Hunter to find the Ranger still rooted in his spot, expression blank but pretty sure it was bordering on horrified inside.
“Did your dad just threaten me?”
Cam squeezed his lover’s arm and nodded. If he didn’t find his father’s threat particularly insulting - hey, he was a ninja here too and could take care of himself - he would’ve laughed at the whole thing. As it was, all he could do was enjoy the alone time he and Hunter got before the others joined them for training.
Life, as far as Cam was concerned, was freaking awesome.
Title: the best laid plans of mice and men
Rating: PG-13
Fandom: Power Rangers: Ninja Storm
Pairing/Characters: Cam/Hunter, Blake/Tori, OFC
Summary: In which Blake schemes and Hunter and Cam finally define their relationship.
Disclaimer: PR: NS © BVS Entertainment, Inc. and BVS International N.V. No copyright infringement intended.
Warnings: none
Notes: title shamelessly stolen from Robert Burns' poem To a Mouse, 1786
Word count: 3,874
~*~
Storm Chargers, Blue Bay Harbor, California
It was becoming a regular thing for Cam to hang around the sports store, and if you asked Blake, he’d tell you it was turning just plain weird. He didn’t think it was Cam’s kind of hangout but then he just chalked it up to Cam wanting to hang out with them no matter where they were. But still, weird.
Of course, Blake’s other theory was that Cam was secretly just hanging around his brother, and not all of them, which sprouted many other questions that Blake had no answers to. As it was, Blake was catching onto the fact just recently that Hunter and Cam hung out an awful lot without the others around. He didn’t know what that meant exactly, but it had to be something important.
He might have gone on wondering for who knew how long if Tori hadn’t suddenly befriended a new girl in school.
~*~
Anna was the new girl in school whose father was in the military and currently stationed in California. She and Tori started hanging out so much after school that Blake was starting to miss his girlfriend, which was kind of a ludicrous thought as they were Power Rangers together and trained everyday, but there it was.
Bringing this up with Tori only made her smile at him. (He wasn’t jealous though, no matter what she said. He didn’t begrudge her having other friends beside him and the other Power Rangers.)
“What about going on a double-date,” she asked him one afternoon sitting on his bike.
“That would be a solution.”
“Oh, but wait, Anna doesn’t have a boyfriend to double-date with.” Tori scrunched up her face, trying to think of something else.
Blake smirked, his brain already coming up with a plan. If Hunter wouldn’t tell him what was going on with him and Cam, then Hunter totally wouldn’t mind helping out his brother and going out on a date with a girl, would he?
“Don’t worry,” he told Tori confidently, “I think I have the perfect guy for Anna.”
~*~
Storm Chargers, Blue Bay Harbor, California, the next day
Blake was surreptitiously watching his brother and Cam. They weren’t doing anything except talking in low voices over at the counter and looking at a magazine. But it was the fact that they had their heads bent close together and would stop talking whenever someone walked over to them that made Blake suspicious. If it was Power Ranger business he could understand, but it didn’t make sense that they’d stop talking if it was either Tori, Dustin, Shane or him who walked over to them.
Anna and Tori walked in then, Tori catching his eye and giving him a small wave.
Perfect. Time for Operation: Get Hunter to Be Honest With Him.
“Hey, bro, wanna do me a favor?” Of course the moment Blake walked up to his brother and Cam, they clammed up.
“What’s up?”
“Tori has this awesome friend, Anna and I was wondering if you wanted to double-date with me and Tori? Make her not feel like a third wheel?”
Hunter scratched at the back of his neck nervously. “Uh, you know blind dates are so not my thing…”
“But, dude, she’d be perfect for you! She loves motor cross, and pretty much every sport out there, and she's new, so you could show her around. Plus, she's really beautiful, just ask Tori.”
He looked from Hunter to Cam, but neither of them gave anything away.
“I really can’t go on this blind-date, Blake.”
“Why not?”
“Because.”
“Because why?”
“Just because.”
“That’s not an answer and you know it.”
Hunter shrugged. “It’s the only one I can give right now.”
Not that he thought Hunter would pour his heart out to him, but this was a little disappointing. It wasn't that Blake cared who his brother was dating, whether that was a girl or Cam (though he really couldn't understand it - Cam, really? - on the whole, he didn't care, as long as his brother was happy). Some would say then that with this attitude of his, it didn't really make sense for him to try to trick his brother into admitting he was dating Cameron Watanabe. Why not just ask Hunter himself? Well, that's how he'd approach any normal person who knew how to talk about what he was feeling, but he knew his brother. If he just came out and asked what he was so curious about, he'd never find out the truth. That was just how his brother was. If he didn't already know from Hunter himself, asking outright would just make Hunter defensive and close in on himself.
So he had to approach this carefully and, unfortunately for Blake, that meant going about it in a roundabout way. Blake was thinking maybe he could wear down his brother, and it'd probably help if they were alone and not talking about this in front of Cam, or the others - who technically weren't listening, but they all had good hearing.
Cam, who had been curiously silent up until now, said, “She does sound perfect for Hunter. You really should go out with her.”
Blake was confused for a minute that Cam seemed to be siding with him, but he shrugged it off. It was probably pretend on Cam's side to throw Blake off his suspicions. It might've worked too but Blake was a power ranger and he saw all those secretive, too long touches and looks they thought no one noticed. Yeah, nothing was getting by him.
Hunter though looked hurt at Cam's suggestion.
Well, it was no big loss to Blake in the grand scheme of things, although this didn't confirm anything either way. He just wished his brother would trust him enough to tell him. “So you really don't want to go out with her?” Blake was talking to Hunter, but Hunter was intensely looking at Cam.
“No, I don't.”
That sounded definitive so Blake left them alone. He wasn't getting the truth out of Hunter and it was probably for the best. Maybe he could get Shane or Dustin to go out with Anna.
~*~
Ninja Ops, Wind Academy, Blue Bay Harbor, California
“What did you mean this afternoon?”
And that was how Hunter snuck into his room, sitting on the edge of his bed; no ‘hi’, or ‘may I come in?’ or ‘can we talk?’ He knew the conversation was going to come up at one point or another, he just didn’t expect it to be right that night, mere hours after Blake and Hunter left to do whatever they did back at their apartment. Clearly, he should’ve expected the unexpected, lord knew Hunter was the least predictable of the two of them in this relationship - or friends with benefits arrangement, whatever you wanted to call it.
He rolled over onto his back, giving up on the pretense of sleeping. Hunter wasn’t buying it and the sooner they had this talk, the better he’d finally feel - in theory.
“I just meant, I could see why Blake would say she’d be perfect for you and I thought you should go out with her.”
“You haven't met her yet! And, more importantly, I don’t think she's perfect for me.”
Cam sighed. Hunter was a stubborn person, alright. “But if everyone else thinks she’s perfect for you, she must be, and you just aren’t seeing it.”
“You stubborn - didn’t you just hear what I said? Who cares what they think? And you're exaggerating, it was just Blake that thinks that. And I can see who’s perfect for me even if they are being stubborn dickwads about it.”
“Oh that’s nice - throw insults.”
“I’m only throwing insults because you are being a fucking idiot.”
That set Cam’s teeth on edge. It wasn’t like he was the one seeking out Hunter to have this talk. How could Hunter not see that he wasn’t trying to be an idiot on purpose - that this hurt him? To admit that he can’t be openly affectionate with Hunter or to kiss him or to have their friends speculate on who Hunter would be perfect with when all the time his mind is screaming that Hunter is perfect with him? That despite him saying that this meant nothing more than two friends having some fun, he had fallen in love with Hunter somewhere along the way?
“Look,” Hunter sidled up to him, arm going around his waist protectively and nose diving into the back of his neck - for some strange reason, Hunter loved burying his nose into Cam’s skin, “if you’re thinking that you aren’t perfect for me, then stop that fucking crazy train before it leaves the tracks.”
“Well, I’m certainly not your type.” He could have forced that to sound less bitter than it did, honestly, but he was tired and having Hunter this close to him, warm and comforting in the darkness, was making him lose the little bit of control he was limply hanging onto.
“I’m not your type, what’s your point?”
It was so not fair that Hunter could nuzzle him while having a deeply serious conversation. How was Cam supposed to remain objective and clear-minded? Obviously, they should’ve been having this conversation out of bed, and preferably in the daylight, when he was less vulnerable and less prone to saying stuff he’d regret later.
“All I’m saying - oh,” there went Hunter’s hand under his shirt, stroking his stomach and he seriously had to remember to not talk to Hunter about anything important while the other man was putting moves on him, "is you’re this tall, blonde, hunk, who’s pretty much got all the babes lining up left, right, and center, and I just can’t imagine what you’re doing with me." Way to be pathetic there, Cam, his mind shot out traitorously.
The dead silence that followed this admission was disheartening and was made more so when Hunter stopped his stroking, moving away from Cam.
“I see.” Hunter said cryptically.
Cam seriously doubted that. He couldn’t explain all his neuroses even to himself, yet to say that would break the thin ice he was already treading on. He didn’t want to admit to any of it but somehow, under the cover of darkness, it was easier to talk to Hunter.
The silence seemed to go on forever. He could see Hunter’s silhouette outlined from the light of the moon outside the window. Hunter had his arms crossed over his chest, no doubt scowling in the darkness - probably at Cam.
“Don’t be angry,” Cam said, trying to salvage whatever he had broken. He knew he shouldn’t have opened his mouth but both Blake’s comment this afternoon and Anna pushed him over the edge.
“Don’t be angry? Who shouldn’t I be angry at? You? Blake? You know, Cam, you have this aura of aloofness, that you don’t care - that all we’re doing here is having sex - granted fucking fantastic sex - but that’s as far as it goes. We might be team mates when it comes to saving Blue Bay Harbor from Lother and his minions but we sure as hell aren’t in a relationship. And that’s so fucking unfair because…” Hunter seemed to run out of steam, voice going soft.
“It’s unfair because what?”
“Nothing.” Hunter untangled himself from the sheets and stood up. “I should go.” Hunter reached for what Cam thought was his shirt.
And a fear like Cam had never known before, not even when Lothor attacked them or sent new monsters, seized him. If he let Hunter go now, this thing between them - whatever it was - would be over and he couldn’t - no, he wouldn’t - let that happen. No matter what else transpired between them tonight, he had to still remain friends with Hunter.
Even though Cam loved him, he couldn’t say it. So he settled for the next best thing. “No, please, stay.” He reached out to grab Hunter’s arm to lead him back into bed.
“I - I just don’t understand you sometimes, Cam.” Hunter said, resigned, but came back to lie down on the bed.
“I don’t understand me sometimes either.”
Hunter gave a small chuckle. “At least that’s something we have in common, right?”
The only thing, sadly, Cam thought. “I do care about you - I don’t think we’re just team mates, well, I hope we’re not just team mates but this is extremely difficult for me.”
“What’s difficult for you? You’re like a genius with everything.”
“Maybe with everything but emotions and relationships. I know I acted strange today. But it’s just because I…well, I don’t know how to express myself other than being sarcastic about something and this isn’t something I can be sarcastic about. It’s too…important.”
“You think what we have is important?” Hunter was close to him now, Cam could feel him breathing.
“Um, yes.” Cam blushed when he felt Hunter’s hands return to his stomach and got a nose full of blonde head.
“You have to talk to me, Cam, it’s the only way I’ll know how you feel.” Hunter goosed him before moving away and settling against the headboard so that he had his arms around Cam and Cam was lying against him.
“But what if you don’t want to hear how I feel?” Cam bit his lip, looking up at the darkened ceiling.
“I don’t think such a thing is possible.”
“But you don’t know that.”
“Cam, god, you are such a pessimist. OK, if you don’t believe me, I’ll start talking since I’ll look like a hypocrite if I say if you have to talk to me but I don’t do the same. And you might not want to hear this, but I’m just going to go and say it. Cam, you do hurt me - a lot because I fucking hate this. I hate that you think this is just us being fuck buddies because I’m fucking in love with you. And I want to be in a relationship with you because no one makes me feel like you do - like I want to hit you and make out with you at the same time.”
Cam was comfortable enough that he was dozing against Hunter but this made him sit up alert. “You’re in love with me?” he asked in an incredulous voice. He was trying very hard not to grin like a blubbering idiot but it was a losing battle.
“Yeah, I am.” Hunter sounded like he was waiting for something bad to happen. And right on the heels of Cam’s utter happiness that shot through him at that moment came a disturbing thought. Did Hunter not say he loved him before because he was afraid Cam didn’t love him?
Was Cam the biggest fool on the earth?
“OK, say something. You’re being awfully quiet.”
Hunter had put his heart on the line and, once Cam’s thudding heart stopped trying to rip through his chest to dance the rumba, the least he could was confess how he felt as well.
“Idiot,” he said. He grabbed Hunter's face and kissed him thoroughly.
“Wait, what?” Hunter broke the kiss, holding Cam at arm’s length.
“I’m in love with you too.” Cam bit his lip; there he said it. And now that he did, nothing horrible had happened so he had no idea why he didn’t utter those words sooner. It would’ve made him angst less.
“You do? That’s - that’s awesome. Really awesome.” Hunter pronounced before moving to tower over him, grinding against Cam. They kissed passionately, Hunter’s hands moving over his bare chest, tracing patterns. Cam could only hold on, not knowing if he was really dreaming or not. It seemed way too good to be true.
As good as the kissing was, there was something else that they hadn’t addressed that was making this kissing bittersweet between them. Hunter had told Cam he loved him and Cam should’ve been elated - and he was, don’t get him wrong; he was over the moon about it - but he still couldn’t help feeling like crap because Hunter loved him and no one would know. He couldn’t forgot this afternoon and, in light of Hunter’s confession, it made it all the more unbearable to think about if there would be a next time when Blake would suggest dating to Hunter.
Hunter rolled him onto his side, hooking one finger into Cam’s boxers and sliding them off. Soon they naked, and Hunter prepared and thrust into him with a wild abandon, each thrust emphasized by a squeeze of his nipples. Bringing himself to orgasm, Hunter didn’t pull out once he had finished but stayed inside Cam and kissed him all over his neck and shoulder blade. And Cam finally let go, releasing all his pent up emotions and shouted Hunter’s name.
After wards, Hunter cleaned them up and kissed him on the side of his forehead, nestling Cam into his side. But before Cam could fall asleep, he blurted, “I don't want us to be a secret anymore.”
And, in the still darkness, he felt Hunter wrap an arm around him, settling his legs in-between Cam's, and the weight was familiar and warm. “We'll tell everybody - but in the morning, sleep now.”
~*~
Cam woke up the next morning to find Hunter gone, which, while not unusual, made him unhappy. On the other hand, he was glad he didn’t have to face Hunter again so soon after last night. Last night - oh last night they went so far past the boundary of friends with benefits nothing but dust was left now. And that scared Cam. Would Hunter look at him any differently now that Cam poured his heart out to him? He guessed he’d just have to wait and see to find out.
He met his father in Ninja Ops for their daily meditation. That was another thing he wasn’t looking forward to all that much: telling his father about Hunter and him.
Cam didn’t think his father would disown him - not with Lothor and that fact that his father was stuck being a guinea pig for the foreseeable future, but they didn’t talk about this stuff - romance and love - like at all so who knew what his father would think? Maybe Senshi Watanabe was looking forward to having grandkids and here was Cam coming along to crush that dream? But if he didn’t tell his father, if he didn’t come out, then his heart would break all over again because he wanted the whole world to know how much head over heels in love he was with Hunter.
“Dad…” he began, trying not to look down at the cushion next to him, lest his courage leave him like wisps of smoke in a strong breeze. “I need to tell you something and I’m not sure how you’ll take it but I need to say it; it needs to be out in the open. So I’m just going to go ahead and say it…I’m…inarelationshipwithHunterandIreallyreallylovehim.” OK, so saying that last part in one breath, without stopping, might have seemed immaturish - his father was a ninja, of course he’d hear what Cam said, no matter how fast he said it, but hope sprung eternal and all that.
“I know, son.”
“Huh?”
“The fact that you and Hunter are in a relationship is not that surprising.”
“It’s not?” Cam winced. If his father wasn’t surprised then he and Hunter weren’t being as stealthily as they thought they were.
“Dear son, I believe everyone could see that you two were close, even from the beginning.”
“Everyone?” Was his father referring to what Cam thought he was referring to?
“Yes, son, I do believe everyone. We are all ninjas here.”
Yes. His father was referring to what Cam thought he was referring to. If he didn’t think it’d make him look undignified, he would have face planted straight into the floor and maybe kicked himself for good measure.
~*~
“So, did you know that we weren’t being as secretive as we thought? Because Blake, as he says, saw this coming from a mile away months ago and was really disappointed we didn’t tell him sooner.” Hunter came strolling in, coming to stand right behind the chair Cam was sitting in.
“I got that feeling when I told Dad this morning and all the reaction I got out of him was “Son, we all already know, so stop worrying about it as we haven’t disowned you for it yet.”
He thought Hunter would find it humorous, but the crimson ranger sucked in a breath and said, in an amazed tone, “You told your dad about us?”
That made Cam turn to look at Hunter. “Uh, yeah, I thought when we agreed last night to tell everyone that my dad was included.”
“I just thought you meant Tori, Blake, Dustin, and Shane. But to tell your dad…that’s huge. That means you were totally serious last night.” Hunter smiled shyly at him. Cam learned early on that for all the bravado and courage that Hunter possessed, and what seemed to be an insatiable urge for Cam, with all the flirting and touching they did in private, there was a part of Hunter that seemed to hold himself back - he was kind of like Cam in that regard. Cam’s self-esteem was so low that he didn’t think he deserved Hunter or Hunter’s love, and Hunter, Cam was shocked to realize last night, thought the same in regard to Cam.
Cam’s instance that this between them didn’t mean anything important had hurt not just Cam but Hunter too. Only difference was that Hunter had buried it so deeply inside him and locked it away because he wanted to be with Cam anyway he could get him.
Cam got out of his seat hastily, enveloping Hunter in a crushing hug. To think that his stupidity almost cost him this….
He felt, more than saw, Hunter’s confusion at the seemingly unprovoked public display of affection, but he just held on tighter, Hunter returning the gesture immediately.
A cough startled them apart and Cam looked to see his father staring at them from his little made up guinea pig house.
“I believe we have training to start.”
“Yes, sorry, Sensei.” Hunter let go of Cam, looking embarrassed. Cam, for his part, couldn’t stop grinning. He really was a sappy romantic - not that he’d ever admit it out loud.
“Oh, Hunter, if you hurt my son, I’d be very careful to sleep with one eye open.” Sensei Watanabe used his ninja powers to flip himself from his made-up miniature house to the floor, bounding out of the room.
Cam looked back at Hunter to find the Ranger still rooted in his spot, expression blank but pretty sure it was bordering on horrified inside.
“Did your dad just threaten me?”
Cam squeezed his lover’s arm and nodded. If he didn’t find his father’s threat particularly insulting - hey, he was a ninja here too and could take care of himself - he would’ve laughed at the whole thing. As it was, all he could do was enjoy the alone time he and Hunter got before the others joined them for training.
Life, as far as Cam was concerned, was freaking awesome.