A camping trip

[gentleman_tiger]

John hadn't been making a large issue over the fact that he was heading out camping over the weekend; he hadn't hidden it like a secret. He hadn't done any of these things because he wasn't stupid, and he was extremely good at keeping secrets

Comments

[wizard_p_i]

Of course it was a complete coincidence that a wizard who was similarly laden happened to meet him there.

Harry's pack contained an air mattress, a fishing rod, food, ale, water, a coffee pot and coffee, and--at the suggestion of the clerk at the store, a first aid kit.

And naturally, he'd shoved a drumstick wand in his pocket and was carrying a hockey stick staff. A substantial number of ingredients for magical spells were in his pack as well. He did have some practicing to do, after all.

He was rather looking forward to John's reaction. He'd rarely met a mortal who was so fascinated by magic.

And one more thing--well, a few more things--that weren't in his pack at all.

"Hello, John," he said, his eyes lighting up as he smiled. "Good to see you."

It wasn't easy hugging a man who was carrying an enormous backpack, but Harry tried.

[gentleman_tiger]

John braced himself so that neither of them would topple backward, and returned the awkward hug, with the addition of a friendly kiss on Harry's cheek that was perhaps a nanosecond too long to be passed off as simple European camaraderie.

He looked at Harry, his smile muted but genuine. "Likewise. Shall we be off?" He nodded his head toward the deeper woods, away from town, towards where the boundaries shifted and distance became an approximate thing.

[wizard_p_i]

"Yes. Let's. I've been looking forward to this. A lot. You have a site in mind, I assume?"

Not that it was certain, mind. But John was good at planning.

[gentleman_tiger]

"I've seen several likely clearings, one near a stream with fish in it. Whether they'll be here again I don't know. For now, let's just walk; we can make camp when we find the right spot."

[wizard_p_i]

"Walking is good," Harry said, the happy smile on his face growing just a smidge. "This was a good idea of yours, by the way. I haven't been camping since I was six. What made you think of it?"

[gentleman_tiger]

"I actually thought of taking you out sailing first. If we were in Chicago and it was waxing summer, I'd already have been out on one lake or another by now. But I fear it would be too noticeable. I'll have to save it for ... friends. Even though I would gladly share it with my lover."

He thought that might be the first time he had used the word for Harry, at least out loud.

"Camping... I remembered that picnic we had had. It was another way to get out, to spend a bit of time together. And as soon as I realized that it would mean a full night together, without you forced to return to your room, I'm afraid the idea wouldn't leave my head."

[wizard_p_i]

"Maybe a midnight sail would be possible," Harry mused, relishing the word 'lover.' "Though I don't know...I think you just want me surrounded with moving water so that I can't resist you."

He didn't sound as if he minded that prospect at all.

"Two nights together with my lover. Tonight and Saturday." His tone was blissful. "I love it. John, you're a genius. Thank you."

[gentleman_tiger]

"Harry, I can have you at my mercy whenever I want to. Such are the wonders of indoor plumbing." John gave him the pleasantest of smiles.

"I can't imagine that Chicago will afford me many chances to spend a night with you. But I will have them, Harry." He met the man's dark eyes, knowing that there was something predatory and undaunted in his own. He was, really, a goal oriented man.

[wizard_p_i]

"I'll bet that no one else in the history of romance has ever tempted his lover with hot water." Harry made the words 'hot water' sound like 'double chocolate caramel fudge Black Forest Cake with whipped cream and raspberry topping, followed by a full-body massage.'

"And we'll find ways. Count on it." If John's eyes were predatory and undaunted, his own were fiercely determined. He was less goal-oriented than John, but when he wanted something, he went after it. Even if it seemed to be impossible. Hell, even if--according all the experts--it WAS impossible.

[gentleman_tiger]

"The fact that you can say that only confirms two things I already knew; the first, that you lack imagination, and the second that you need to be introduced to hot-tubbing in a deep and meaningful way," John said, lifting a haughty brow.

"We will somehow. I will do the planning, the securing, the alibi crafting, and you will move the mountains." John took a breath. "I have no doubt of your ability to achieve off the profoundly improbable. In the most inconvenient way possible, sometimes. But." When he looked over, there was mirth in his green eyes. "Then again, that's part of your charm, hot stuff."

[wizard_p_i]

"I resent the lack of imagination charge." Harry thought for a moment, then capitulated. "All right. I'll amend that to 'No one has ever tried to tempt me with hot water before. And no wizard that I know has ever mentioned anything like that, either."

He grinned wickedly. "And the hot tub sounds like an incredibly brilliant idea. No, I've never been hot tubbing. Ever.

"Also, I really need to come up with a nickname for you. Unfortunately, I think that calling you 'sex on legs' might attract a little attention. Even though it's accurate."

Harry sighed. "I guess I'll just have to think of something else. Something with a double meaning. Maybe even a triple one."

[gentleman_tiger]

"'Sex on legs', however, certainly fits your general level of subtlety." John smirked, turning his eyes back onto the ever-diminishing path (what had started off an almost maintained, hikable path was now a goat trail as they wandered away from the village). "I'll freely admit that that endearment sticks equally as much because of your tendency to get incendiary as it does because you really are amazingly attractive. And do I really need a nickname?"

[wizard_p_i]

"I'm not subtle," Harry admitted, looking around with interest--he'd never been so deep in the woods before. "Except in battle. Then I can be sneaky.

"I thought that might be why you call me 'hot stuff,' too. I like it." Oh, damn. He was blushing again. He could feel it. "So I thought maybe you would like it, too, if I had a private nickname for you."

He touched John's arm lightly. "Only I get the feeling that just being called John is enough for you."

[gentleman_tiger]

"You've been calling me 'John' since the day you met me, and you're right. It is enough for me."

His teeth flashed in a capricious tiger's smile. "And you blush like a little girl, Mister Dresden. I haven't even given you my class ring."

[wizard_p_i]

"Yeah, but there's a difference between calling someone John because you know it gets up their nose and calling him John because he's a friend and a lover. Because there's nothing better to call him than his name.

"And I don't want your damned class ring, John." This statement would have been more impressive if he hadn't been brick-red. "I just want you."

[gentleman_tiger]

John, with a great deal of care and surprising grace, leaned over without letting his pack overbalance him, insinuated a hand behind Dresden, and goosed him fondly.

"You have me. I do hope you realize that by now." And he was taking no little satisfaction from the flaming red face. Hot Stuff on so many levels.