Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Summary: Takes place during Blake and Tori's embarrassing encounter with Cassidy and Devin. Hunter reflects on how things are with him and Cam and how they were after Lothor got sucked into the Abyss of Evil.
Category: Hunter/Cam, Blake/Tori
Note: Told in Hunter's POV.
2nd Note: This deals with homosexuality and bisexuality, if that in anyway gets your panties in a bunch, do not read any further.
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I hadn't realized how much I had missed Cam during the time we hadn't seen each other until he contacted me about the possibility of the Abyss being opened. It was almost as big of a shock as when I had realized I had feelings for him. Cam and I would talk occasionally and we became really close during our time as Rangers. I didn't tell anyone one about the time we spent together, not even Blake. I was never sure why. I guess part of me felt like I wanted to keep Cam and our bonding moments to myself.
-FLASHBACK-
It was the night following our graduation from Ninja School. We were all having a barb-b-q in the park as sort of a "glad the world's not going to hell in a handbasket/woohoo we graduated' party. I remembered sitting at a table and watching everyone around me. Marah and Dustin had gone off to talk in private, later we all found out she was apologizing to him profusely for the whole Beevil incident, Shane was looking on the stakes, hotdogs, burgers, and veggie burgers (for Marah and Dustin...One thing they had in common-vegetarianism.) that were cooking on the grill and also talking to Kapri about what Ninja School would be like. Blake and Tori were sort of floating around but never in the same place at the same time as each other. Someone was missing. I looked around trying to locate that elusive gre....I mean former green ranger.
"Cam?" I called as I walked into the wooded area of the park. I walked deeper into the woods where I found him sitting by a lake on a log. I sat down beside him.
"Hey." I said.
"Hey." He replied, not looking at me. His eyes were kept on the lake.
"You OK?" I asked.
"Yeah, why?" He asked.
"Well, you're missing the festivities." I said. Cam sighed.
"Watching one cousin trying to make a love connection with Dustin while the other cousin asks Shane if she can convert her Ninja Uniform into a mid-drift and Capri outfit is not my idea of fun." Cam said, his eyes still on the water. I chuckled.
"You've got to admit though, it is kind of funny....Kapri wearing Capris..." I said. Cam looked at me as if I had uttered the stupidest thing in the world, which instantly shut me up. "....Or not..." I said. Cam sighed and stood up from the log. He walked deeper into the woods. I followed. Cam groaned. "The whole purpose of me leaving was sort of a hint that I wanted to be alone." He said when he heard my footsteps behind him.
"Cam, come on, there's something wrong, I can tell." I said as I reached over and put a hand on his shoulder with the attempt to turn him around to face me. Next thing I knew, Cam was flipping me over his shoulder and I was landing on the ground with a loud THUD. "Ow.." I groaned.
"Just leave me alone." He growled. I saw anger and sadness in his eyes. What was bugging him? He walked off. I pushed myself to my feet and ran after him. I quickly grabbed his arm and turned him to face me.
"I'm not leaving you alone." I said. "Now, something's wrong and-"
"Nothing's wrong, I'm fine." Cam said, interrupting me. "Mind letting go of my arm?"
"Cam, you just threw me on the ground, you are definitely not fine." I said. Cam glared at me. He snatched his arm away.
"When were you planning on telling me about your teaching position at the Thunder Academy?" He finally asked.
"I....Uh..." I began. I was stumped. Why hadn't I told him the minute I found out like I did with Blake and Tori? Part of me said that I just saw them first and I just hadn't seen Cam to be able to tell him, but another part of me knew that was a flat out lie.
"I had to hear it from Tori. Oh yeah, it was really fun when she said to me 'wow it's going to be so weird without Blake and Hunter around'." Cam said, his tone sounding insulted and close to tears.
"I meant to tell you." I said.
"Yeah, whatever." Cam said. He went to leave. I grabbed his arm to stop him.
"Wait a second." I said. "Fine, now you know." I said when he looked at me. "Aren't you going to like wish me luck or anything? I mean this is like a chance of a lifetime." I said. "I'm going to have a high teaching position at-"
"Yeah, congrats, have fun, see ya." Cam said coldly.
"What is up with you?" I asked. "Are you upset I didn't tell you? All right, I'm sorry, now can you stop acting like a freakin' child and come back with me to the party?" I asked, loosing my temper.
"God, you don't get it, do you?" Cam asked, annoyed.
"Get what?" I asked, exasperated. "That you're blowing this way out of proportion?"
"That I don't want you to go!" He yelled at me. I was a little shocked that he said it and I released his arm.
"Wha..What?" I asked. A flash of regret passed over his face. He closed his eyes and let out a deep breath.
"Forget it." He said. He went to leave again. I groaned and ran after him, stopping right in front of him.
"No, no, you're not leaving." I said. "You're upset, we should talk about this."
"Hunter, just leave me alone. I'm tired. I'm tired of talking and I'm tired of pretending and I-"
"Pretending, pretending what?" I asked, totally lost on what he was getting at.
"It's nothing.....forg-"
"If you say 'forget it' one more time, I swear I'll pound you." I said. Cam spun around on his heel and walked back the other way. "Damnit!" I growled, profoundly annoyed by his avoidance and constant walking away. I followed him yet again and we found ourselves back at the lake were this discussion had started. I was right behind him and he suddenly turned to yell at me some more but I guess he hadn't figured I'd be right in his face and he jumped back a bit, only to lose his balance and start to stumble. I grabbed his arm to help balance him but we ended up falling into the lake and pulling me in with him. The two of us broke the surface coughing a bit. "Are you OK?" I asked. Cam glared at me and shoved me under the water.
"You jerk! You made me fall in!" He yelled. I got up.
"Sorry, ok!" I yelled back at him. "It was an accident. Besides, it's not like I meant to do it." I said. Cam shoved me again, this time my back bumped into the edge of the lake. Cam stood right in front of me. He looked severely pissed and for some reason the sight of him standing there with water dripping off his nose and hair looked incredibly hot. Whoa....I thought. Cam's your friend...There's nothing else going on there. I mean, sure, I had discovered I had interests in both sexes a while ago, a fact I didn't exactly share with the world I'll admit, but me being interested in Cam? Not likely.
"Why don't you just go off to the Thunder Academy and leave me alone?" He snarled. He turned away and went back to the other side of the lake, again, I followed. I was getting a little annoyed that I had somehow become his lapdog..Where ever he went, I followed. He climbed out of the lake and sat on the ground. I got out and sat beside him. I took a deep breath, careful not to let my temper slip any further out of my grasp.
"Look," I began. "I'm going to miss hanging with you and everyone else." I said. "But I've always wanted to be a sensei and when Sensei Amino offered me the position, how could I refuse?" I asked. Cam closed his eyes. I saw his jaw tightened and his chin quiver slightly as if he was trying not to cry. The two of us sat there in silence for a while. I kept hopping for him to either say something or slug me, either way I'd know what was going on in his head.
"I'll miss you." He finally said, barely above a whisper. His voice hitched a bit from the tears he was holding in. I reached over and pulled him into a hug. Cam buried his face in my shoulder and continued to cry. I sat there with him rubbing his back gently as he cried. After a while, his tears subsided yet he didn't move away from me. "I have a confession to make." He said. He lifted his head up and pulled back so he could look at me. "You know how today when we all got to the action games you and I separated from the others?" He asked.
"Uh yeah, I said I wanted to check out some girls and you said you wanted to as well." I said.
"I didn't want to check out the girls." He said. I looked at him, fully confused.
"Then why did you come with me?" I asked.
"Because I-" He cut himself off. It was like he was just about to unload a huge weight off his chest, then decided better of it and kept it there.
"Because you what?" I asked, not letting him off the hook that easily.
"Because I just felt like hanging out with you I guess." He shrugged as he said the obvious lie.
"Come on, spill." I said. Cam sighed.
"It's nothing." Cam said.
"Why don't you just tell me then, if it's nothing." I said. Cam looked down.
"You'll be ticked off." He said.
"I won't, just tell me." I said.
"Will you quit rushing me?" Cam asked. "This isn't exactly easy."
"OK, ok, sorry." I said. Cam took a deep breath.
"I went because I wanted to be with you because I like you." He said quickly. I raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"Is that it?" I asked. "Cam, I like you too...We're friends after all." I said. Cam's face fell as he looked at me.
"No, that's not what I mean." He said. "My god, you are so dense." He muttered.
"Hey!" I yelled, a little insulted. Cam got up.
"Forget I even said anything, this was just a bad idea." He said. I got up as well.
"Cam, don't start with the whole 'nothing's wrong, forget it,' walk away routine again cause frankly, I'm getting sick of it." I said.
"Well, it's not my fault that you're not picking up on the fact that I'm trying to tell you that I think I'm in love with you." He said in an annoyed tone. My eyes widened like two huge saucers. Cam looked at me. He let out a painful sigh. "I didn't mean to say that." He said. He walked to a tree and rested his forehead against it. I numbly stood there trying to process what was just said.
"You...what?" I asked. Cam sighed.
"I guess I should've told you I was gay first, huh?" He muttered. I blinked.
"Uh, yeah, that might've helped." I said in an incredulous tone. Cam sighed again.
"Are we........Okay?" He asked. I didn't answer. Instead I walked over to him and took his shoulder and turned him to face me. I saw him wince a bit, as if he expected me to hit him or yell at him. Man, was he wrong. I took his face in my hands and dove in kissing his lips. He was too shocked to respond and just stood there. After the kiss I pulled back a bit and looked at him. His eyes were glazed over with shock.
"Yeah, I think we're OK." I said with a smile. Cam blinked and looked at me.
"Whoa—Wha-What just happened?" He asked.
"Uh, I'm pretty sure I just kissed you." I said. Cam stood up straight and moved away from me a bit.
"I know that I mean.." He said. He stared at me. "OK, why did you kiss me?" Cam asked.
"Because I wanted to." I said. Why exactly was he complaining here?
"Yeah but why did you want to?" Cam asked.
"Hey, I don't know what makes people want to do things. I'm not a psychologist."
"Did you do it out of pity or something?" Cam asked. "I mean were you just curious on what it would be like to kiss a guy?" I couldn't help chuckle a bit. "What's so funny?" Cam asked.
"You are." I said. "No offense Cam, but you're not the first guy I've kissed." I admitted. Cam stared at me.
"Come again?" He asked, a little surprised. I laughed a bit more. He looked so cute when he was confused. "Wait...You're Hunter..I mean you're always talking about girls and stuff." Cam said, unable to grasp what I had just said.
"Yeah." I said.
"Is girls code word for guys or something?" Cam asked. "I mean are you.......you know.....gay?" He asked.
"No." I answered. "I guess you could say I see options on both ends."
"As in you're bi?" Cam asked. I nodded. "Oh." He said. "Huh." He breathed out and sat on a log. I went and sat beside him.
"Is that a problem?" I asked.
"N-No, I'm just a little surprised, that's all." Cam said. "I mean, I didn't know and-"
"The only one who knows is Blake." I explained. "And that's only because he caught me kissing a fellow ninja at the Thunder Academy when I was fifteen."
"That must've been interesting." Cam said, smirking a bit.
"Oh yeah. Later that night we were in our room and he just looked at me and kept like almost hyperventilating and saying things like 'Hunter, you're my bro, whatever choices you make in life are cool and I just want you to know that I still care about you'. It was quite funny." I said. Cam laughed. He looked at me.
"So, do you.." Cam asked, his voice trailing off.
"I don't know." I said honestly, understanding that he was about to ask if I was in love with him. "I mean I'm still a little surprised I like you as more then a friend." I admitted. "I mean....It's a little weird realizing you have the hots for one of your good friends." I said. Cam raised an eyebrow.
"So, you have the 'hots' for me, huh?" He asked. "I guess I can live with that." He said.
"OK." I said.
"So...You're really leaving for the Thunder Academy?" He asked. I nodded sadly.
"Part of me wants to stay here, with you...But-"
"It's your dream. You've got to persue it." Cam said, finishing my sentence.
"Yeah." I said. He nodded.
"So...Would it be completely stupid and uncalled for if I said I'd get jealous if you started hanging around someone a lot over there?" He asked. I smiled and put my arm around his shoulders and pulled him closer to me.
"No, but only if I can be jealous if you start hanging around any guys here." I whispered against his lips as I went to kiss him again.
"Deal." Cam whispered back as our lips met for a kiss. This time Cam was more active and the two of us ended up making out right there. I remember his hand going up my back under my shirt and my hands feeling his chest. I'm pretty sure I pooped one or two of his top buttons on his shirt, but I don't think either of us cared.
-PRESENT-
"Hunter....Earth to Hunter..." Came Cam's voice. I blinked and shook my head, clearing it of the images of the past. "You OK?" He asked.
"Uh, yeah, just thinking." I said.
"About?" He asked. I smirked.
"How much I want to kiss you right now." I said. Cam blushed a bit.
"Not here." He said. "We might shock the newbies." He said. I chuckled and put an arm around his shoulder and led him away.
"I think I saw some benches over here." I said. We walked for a bit then stopped.
"It looks like their occupied at the moment." Cam said. No kidding. There on the bench were Blake and Tori in the middle of a heavy make out session. "We should give them their privacy." Cam said, trying not to laugh.
"Yeah." I said. We went off deeper into the park and found some other benches and sat down. Cam leaned in and captured my lips in his. I wrapped my arms around his waist as the two of us enjoyed the taste of one another.
END FOR NOW.