Ways of desire

Jin was not a very patient man. Somehow, he understood why Kame got so upset, but that didn´t mean he was willing to bear with his non-speaking attitude for long.

The Black Riders finished their dinner and shared a bottle of whiskey in more or less positive atmosphere, as the second drink they toasted with was on their fallen friends in Leadville. They remembered Oswald´s sister Olivia as well, when Ryo informed Leo and Jane about the telegram from the old man. Not to mention that they didn´t know yet if Nick managed to recover from that ugly stabbing – they could be even one more member less now…

Esler insisted on keeping double patrols, no matter how much all of them needed some sleep. It would be too risky to be careless, when they didn´t know what Harvey would do once he would be found tied to that beautiful tree. He might really scamper off from Colorado, but on the other hand, he might organize a search for them. And that could happen the day after tomorrow as well as this very evening already.

Jin was in no mood for early sleeping, so he voluntarily enrolled for the first watch and left the campsite to take a piss, not caring about who would be assigned with him.

When he returned, Leo with Jane were curled up not far from the fireplace, whispering something to each other in a tight hug, while the blonde Rider had already fallen asleep, buried under his blanket. Only Ryo and smoking Esler remained sitting at the fire yet, passing to each other what was left from the whiskey. Jin sat down next to the younger man and accepted the bottle as well.

"Can you really manage the watch with that wound of yours?" Ryo asked him. "I can take it instead, if you want."

"No, I´m fine. It´s just a scratch," Jin assured him, taking a long gulp. That gunshot wound was not a big deal, but it still hurt as hell and he welcomed the calming effects of alcohol.

"All right, you take it with Kamenashi then," Esler announced, and lit another cigarette.

What a surprise, Jin thought gloomily. One would think he´d like to avoid me more.

"Where is he, anyway?" he asked aloud. He was wondering about the whereabouts of the younger one since the moment he noticed Kame wasn´t present at the fire, but he had enough self-control not raise that question right away.

"He went to gather more wood for the night, down to the brook," Ryo replied, taking the bottle back from Jin with a calculative smirk, before he could protest. "You can go to help him, we won´t fall asleep so quickly. I need to taste this curious liquid properly…"

Jin huffed and opened his mouth to object something, but then he reconsidered.

Esler leant forward and jerked the bottle out of Ryo´s hand: "We will taste it, my dear friend. Don´t think you´ll drink the rest of this yourself."

Ryo seemed a little disappointed, but wisely did not protest.

"Enjoy your selfish drink then," Jin wished them tauntingly and got up again.

*

Cullen watched the older Akanishi leaving, until his figure disappeared between the trees. Then he turned back toward the fire and noticed a strange smile on the younger Rider´s face.

"What?" he asked sharply. He didn´t like the mischievous way in which Ryo was observing him.

"It´s just good to see that they´ve finally gained your trust," the other one shrugged.

Cullen snorted: "I didn´t say I trust them…"

"You didn´t have to," Ryo smirked. "And it was about time, anyway."

"Better be safe than sorry," he reacted stiffly.

"I won´t argue with you about that," the younger one agreed. "And give me that bottle, for God´s sake."

*

The cheerfully flowing stream was located quite low under the steep hill, on which they camped. Jin walked to it slowly, his eyes searching through the woods for any movement and he found Kame quite easily – the younger one was gathering the washed-up branches on the bank of a little cove.

Jin approached the place and stopped next to a subtle tree, waiting for him to note his presence. It took longer than was usual for Kame, but in the end, he took a notice of him, when he leant down for the stick in Jin´s direction. The younger one flinched, a little startled, before his eyes focused on the ground again, not saying a word.

Unsatisfied Jin pressed his lips together. He was already tired, and starting to be upset, but at the same time, he felt a little guilty… It was hard to talk with silent Kame.

Quite a lot of branches were thrown onto the waiting pile, and the skillful hands started tying it up with a rope.

"Just for how long are you going to keep this up?" Jin asked more harshly than he intended.

Kame finished the firm knot first, before he straightened up and finally looked at him.

"I had asked you to be careful. Did I really want that much?" Kame reacted, with a clear rebuke in his voice.

That was more than enough to rouse Jin´s anger: "What did you expect? My brother was in mortal danger!" he snapped loudly, startling some birds on the tree above them, so that they flew off with the alarmed shrieks.

"And what about the danger which was aiming at you?!" Kame raised his voice as well. "There were three gunmen shooting at you and you didn´t even try to dodge!"

"If I could save Leo that way, the hell I cared!" Jin reacted fiercely.

Kame stood there motionlessly for a while, his expression hurt: "Yeah… I get it," he said very quietly then. "You don´t give a damn what it´d have done to me. How I´d have felt if something happened to you."

Jin froze, staring at the younger one, suddenly realizing the sadness in his eyes.

"Kame…" he took two hesitant steps toward him.

"It´s all right," the other one didn´t let him talk. "I know how important Leo is to you."

Kame spoke as if he was reconciled with it, but still so damn sadly and Jin couldn´t bear it: "I didn´t mean to… I just couldn´t think clearly in that situation!"

"I know," the younger one reacted with a short sigh. "It´s just that… I was so damn scared."

Jin gulped down a heavy lump in his throat, seeing his boyfriend looking like a picture of misery.

"I´m sorry, Jin, I overreacted," Kame said suddenly and leant down to the pile of branches again. "I just need some rest, we all do…"

But Jin didn´t let him make even one step and he hugged Kazuya from behind, leaning the chin on his shoulder.

"I´m sorry too…" he whispered unhappily, tightening the grasp around the slender form. "It was just too sudden…"

Kame let go of the rope, giving in to Jin´s hug tiredly: "It´s like that with everything, right? Everything is falling upon us like an avalanche."

"It will be better now, you´ll see," Jin said, trying to be positive.

"I want to believe that, Jin," the younger one reacted thoughtfully. "I really want."

Jin released his grip, but just to turn Kame around, so that he could see the younger´s troubled face.

"I´ll make it better right now then," he stated determinedly, and captured Kame´s lips in a demanding kiss.

When Kame recognized the righteous indignation in Jin´s voice, he suddenly felt so ashamed for his reaction. It was clear from the very beginning how much Jin cared for his younger brother and how badly Leo´s disappearance influenced him. Kame promised to himself to keep an eye over the older one just because of that – he expected his handsome lover to lose his composure.

But despite that unspoken promise, he burst out at the first serious occasion, after he saw Jin riding to meet the ugly black barrels. Jin just selflessly helped his younger sibling – that was not something what Kame should reproach him for. It was what Jin was like and he loved him for that as well as for many other things. He could blame fatigue or taunt nerves, but still, he should have thought first, before snapping at the older one.

Kame´s apology was sincere; he felt awful for being so selfish, thinking only about himself. Not wanting to bother Jin with his mood slips even more, he intended to go back up to the camp, but to his surprise and great relief, the strong arms prevented him from that.

Kame realized just how much he needed that touch; he needed to feel Jin close, to make sure that the other one was there. It was the only real certainty he had recently. It felt even more exhilarating than usually to be kissed by those full lips. Only their physical connection could make him feel at ease finally.

Jin´s tongue requested the gateway inside his mouth, making Kame gasp. He let himself be overwhelmed by that warm feeling, which spread into him from every spot, with which he was attached to the older one´s body. Circling both arms around Jin´s neck, he tried to pay him back with the kissing, but his action felt so desperate that Kame could only let him conquer his lips.

He felt the older one´s hands slipping down to grab his waist and pull his body closer, which got him even warmer. He caressed the visitor in his mouth tenderly, noticing how Jin shivered. Excited from that desirable closeness, he let himself literally sink into the safe hug.

Jin gave up on one spot around his waist, and buried the fingers into his hair, holding Kame´s head firmly, while he sucked on his lips, as if there was no tomorrow. Their heated kissing sent Kame´s heart on such a lovely race…

It was almost as if Jin always forgot just how much he missed kissing the younger one, until they could get some privacy to do it again. He always felt greedier; he always wanted to hold Kazuya closer, even if it was not possible.

He broke away from those tempting lips, keeping his eyes closed and savoring on the scent of the young man in his arms. Kazuya buried his face into the bend between Jin´s neck and shoulder, obviously not very willing to interrupt their hug. Neither Jin was. It felt too good for that.

They didn´t move, or talk for a long while, enjoying that moment, which felt even more precious after everything what had happened recently. Then the younger one raised his head and caressed both Jin´s shoulders slowly.

"We should go back before they begin to worry…" Kame whispered.

That statement didn´t surprise Jin at all. But sometimes, it was damn annoying, how responsible Kame could be.

"They´ll manage without us for a while," he reacted hoarsely and slipped with both his hands down to Kame´s trousers.

The younger one pushed himself a little further away, realizing the impatient fingers unbuttoning him: "Jin…"

"Just shut up for a moment, Kazuya," the older one requested and started kissing his lips again, hastily and hungrily, securely stopping the younger´s objections with it. Not that he would have met much opposition, when his fingers did their work finally and Jin could get under the annoying cloth.

With his mouth sealed, Kame gasped, when Jin´s fingers closed around his shaft tenderly and started stroking across its whole length. The younger one escaped from Jin´s lips to breathe in some air, and with his eyes closed, he eagerly gave in to the seductive touch. Jin felt the warm flesh hardening quickly and that sensation sent the hot wave of desire into his own head. A little harshly, he pushed Kazuya back to lean him on a tree and continued the teasing more urgently.

Kazuya was looking him in the eyes, his arms wrapped around Jin´s neck almost desperately, his lips partially open and his chest rising in the quick intervals. And Jin loved to see that handsome flushed face from so close.

"Oh, my… Jin… This is…" Kame tried to speak coherently, but without much success.

"Ssh," Jin laid a finger over the younger´s lips, strengthening his gentle grip. Kame´s body started to shake a little and his breathing got heavier.

"More… I want… you too…" he urged, trying to get further away from the rousing touches.

Jin pressed Kame back over the tree trunk more firmly, to prevent him from moving and fastened his movements.

"No," he rejected. "Just you now…"

The look of the goldish eyes locked with his and it made Jim lean forward, approaching those shaking lips again. While he kept caressing Kazuya´s hot member, he kissed him heatedly and that silenced the younger one quite easily.

Jin couldn´t even imagine that the sight of the young man desperately gasping for breath, as he got more and more aroused, his shaft throbbing in Jin´s hold, would be so damn hot and that he would enjoy it that much. Concluding the erotic rubbing with the quick hard strokes, Jin made Kame come with the long moan of pleasure.

Shaking Kazuya was literally hanging onto him for a while, before his eyes opened, the excited shine fading only slowly in them.

"Damn it, Jin…"

Smiling, the older one hugged Kame again and kissed him tenderly. But when he wanted to withdraw, the younger one didn´t let him and sucked on Jin´s lips, while his hands went down, conquering the other´s pants.

"Hey, you don´t have to…" Jin objected feebly.

"It´s your turn now," Kame hushed him right away and with an unexpectedly swift move, he shifted their positions, so that Jin´s was the one leaning on the hard bark of the tree.

Kazuya´s movements were much slower than his own were before and they felt so damn gently torturous, that Jin thought that sensation would swallow him whole. He fought for breath no less helplessly than the younger one, feeling his shining eyes upon himself.

The warm sexy motions all along his hard member and testicles were pulling him up to the bright world of arousal so quickly, that it was impossible to make his brain work and even think about another way of satisfaction. He was too lost in the delightful pleasure…

*

It felt incredible. Their bodies missed each other so much, that they reached their climax just by the mutual touches. Certainly, it was also the after-effect of the recent adrenaline events, but still… Kame would have felt ashamed not being for the older one in the same state as him, and Jin was still amazed by his overwhelming reaction to anything the younger one did.

With their legs shaking, they both pulled their trousers back up, and they cleaned themselves in the water stream, before their eyes connected again. Kame approached Jin slowly and quivering, he pecked his swollen lips. Jin didn´t let him retreat then and pulled the younger one even closer, kissing Kame back deeply.

"That was… very nice," he stated huskily then.

Which was an awful understatement; Jin knew that. He literally needed a release of that kind. Not that he would not have welcomed even more, he was still eager to conquer that slim body again, but for that moment it was enough. And Kame´s smile was hiding something more than just a satisfaction they brought to each other, too.

"But don´t think that with this you´ve fulfilled the promise…" Jin continued.

That statement confused Kame and his fingers stopped playing with the collar of Jin´s shirt: "What do you mean?"

"You still owe me a date," the older one reminded him in a voice, which made Kame´s heartbeat faster again.

"Ah, that…"

"Yes, that."

*

When they finally forced themselves to get back to the quietly crackling fire, the sun was long hidden behind the tops of the Rocky Mountains. The evening chill ruled over the little campsite, making all resting Riders, including Ryo, huddle under their blankets. Cullen was the last one remaining awake and his sharp eyes pierced both youngsters, when they appeared with armful of branches.

"It took you long enough," he grunted as a welcome.

"But we gathered enough for the whole night, so you guys don´t have to worry about it," Jin reacted with a wide grin, putting the heavy load on the pile near their small bonfire, as well as Kame, who kept his eyes lowered.

"And that´s your only luck," Esler wrinkled his eyebrows and he got up to grab a blanket for himself as well. "Ryo and Koki should take the watch after you," he added. "Wake them up earlier, if you feel you won´t manage it, is that clear? I don´t want us to be unguarded…"

"Sure thing, boss," Jin saluted cheerfully.

Esler froze in the middle of movement, as he was settling with the legs stretched toward the fire and stared at Akanishi, while Kame turned away, pretending to check on their horses, hopelessly covering an amused chuckle.

"Good to see you´ve got so much energy left," the older man noted in the end. "Good night."

It didn´t take long before Cullen dropped off, and started snoring a little.

Kame richly added to the fire, making the flames go higher and creating the play of yellow light over the sleeping gang. He kept crouching by it for a while, making sure that the sparkles would not get in the direction of their sleeping friends, while Jin picked one of the boulders and nestled there leaning over it. His belt with the re-loaded revolvers was put aside on it, just behind his head and he had prepared one rifle, which was leaning over the boulder from the side, too.

Jin reached for the flask with the water and drank from it, while his eyes watched the younger one taking care of the fire.

Kame stared in the flames for a while, trying to hold onto that calmness inside him, which had arrived along with his reconciliation with Jin. But from some reason, no matter how hard he tried to persuade himself, that they had no reason to worry for the moment and they could rest, he couldn´t get rid of that faint anxiety, which made his stomach squeeze.

Reaching his hands toward the flames, to warm them up, his eyes went down to them. He had tried to wash it out, but there were still stains of blood on the sleeves of his coat. Not his blood, but of those gunmen they killed, as he had helped to drag them away from the road. And it was also Jin´s blood, from how he treated that gunshot wound in his shoulder. The older one was damn lucky the bullet did not hit any artery and just scratched him.

Kame stared at the stains blindly, wondering if they could get at least a few days of real peace now. At least a few…

"Kazu…" a quiet voice made him look at the older one, who sat nearby. Jin pointed at the folded spare shirt in his lap. "Come here…"

Kame took a breath: "Jin… We need to stay on alert."

"I will. You just lie down and rest a little," the older one reacted.

"But…"

"Nothing perverted, I swear," Jin interrupted him mockingly. "Just come…"

Kame didn´t need to be persuaded any further; he felt tired enough to just lie down and relax, when he had a chance. One more time, he glanced over the sleeping Riders, then he took one of the last blankets, settled down on the tanned leather, which served all of them as a mattress, and he laid with his head in Jin´s lap, facing the fire.

He felt the other´s eyes upon himself and then his fingers, moving the hair strands off his forehead. That touch was so gentle and so nice it made Kame close his eyes and sigh softly.

"You can have a nap if you want," hearing Jin´s voice from that angle was different, it was deeper somewhat and calming. The fingers ran lower, stroking across his cheek and jaw. "I´ll be watching…"

Kame didn´t want Jin to take all the responsibility for the night´s watch on himself, but he was too tired to open his eyes again.

"All right… Just don´t forget to… wake me before…"

"Don´t worry and sleep already."

There was no way to deny that ´order´, and so Kame simply obeyed.

Kazuya´s breathing slowed down and deepened in no time. From his profile in the golden light of the fire, Jin could see that it was finally relaxed now. He reached out and pulled the blanket higher, to cover the young man in his lap properly. Then he took out a threadbare box of cigarettes from his pocket and lit one of them up.

Jin was smoking carefully, so that no ashes would fall on his boyfriend. He knew Kame didn´t like this habit of his, but Jin really enjoyed the smell of it, and the sight of the smoke disappearing in the air. It was calming him down. He didn´t have much of tobacco left, there were only two of his hand-rolled cigarettes in the box, so it seemed he would have to give up on them for some time anyway.

The eyes of the smoking gunslinger focused in the direction of their horses. Only one animal head was not lowered in their deserved rest – the black stallion was awake, looking in the dark woods and his ears moved from time to time, listening to the sounds of the night wild life. Jin smiled for himself – Kuro was on the guard with him.

His attention once again turned to Kazuya resting under his private surveillance. Jin touched his quite quickly growing hair pensively. The sleeping one didn´t move even a bit, sinking in a deep sleep, completely relaxed.

Being much calmer now, Jin could see the point of Kazuya´s heated reaction clearly. The younger one could have been targeted just as he was on that day. Imagining the death in the form of even one precise bullet hanging above his head squeezed something inside his chest painfully. Jin would have freaked out as well… It was good they were able to talk it out.

Well, more than good, Jin corrected himself, remembering the hot release.

Having the weight of the younger one upon himself, he was tempted to wake Kame up but this time, Jin pushed his desire away. They could steal some privacy for themselves again later. And he was definitely planning to use the very first opportunity to make up for the lack of having Kame for himself.