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“You!”
“What?” asked Ronan, who walked back slowly to the porch railing as Adam strode toward him. He set the heels of his hands on the railing, feeling the sun-peeled paint stick to his sweaty palms.
It was a regular hot, sunny day at the Barns. The cows’ tails swished away bugs as they slowly grazed the day away. The cicadas chirped and the birds sang along with Chainsaw’s mighty kreks . The melody of the birds was almost a very familiar one at times, yet then the next few notes wouldn’t belong, so perhaps it wasn’t.
Ronan had been sitting on his porch, enjoying the sounds and sights, thinking of life, but then the loud bang and yell made him start. Adam had ripped the door open so hard the hinges rattled and walked right toward him. His normally ordinary hair was still disheveled from sleep and he still had Ronan’s shirt on and the pajama pants that he had slept in the night before. Now, that sight would have normally made Ronan’s heart beat entirely too fast, but the look on Adam’s face made it beat for an entirely different reason.
Adam’s eyes were dark and piercing into Ronan. “Oh, you know what.”
Oh, Ronan realized. He did know.
“Kerah, run!” Opal screeched from somewhere in the house. But he did not need those words to know. Adam stalked closer with an increasingly dark look on his face. As soon as he got much too close, Ronan spun and vaulted over the old, spindly railing and took off towards the nearest barn.
To his dismay, he heard the railing creak behind him. Adam had done the same thing rather than taking the stairs. Adam always took the stairs.
The cows didn’t bother to look up at Ronan as he passed because this was a common occurrence. Ronan’s favorite pastime was to play innocent tricks on the love of his life. Although, this time perhaps he took it a little too far. It had been a whole week before Adam noticed, so Ronan had forgotten about it until now.
Ronan heard footsteps closing in just as he darted into the barn that he kept most of his dream things in. The old rusty car his nightmare creature had loved was still there, as well as the glowing flower, which peacefully opened and gave off soft light when it became aware of his presence. This faint light showed him a ladder, which he decided to climb up onto the hayloft.
Adam opened the barn door further when he walked in, but then slammed the door shut. The sudden loudness made Ronan crack up. Shit, Adam probably heard that.
Looking around the small hayloft was fruitless, as this wasn’t the barn Ronan stored hay in. It was utterly empty, just a sparse carpet of hay concealing most of the wooden planks. Some of the old boards showed through in places, which made the little loft any photographer's dream, especially when the sun shined its soft beams through the small door when it was open. Although, it was quite dark now that Adam had shut the door; only a single beam of light peaked through the crack around the hayloft door. Right into Ronan's eye. Fuck you too, sun.
Ronan padded to the dark side of the loft. He half hoped Adam just wouldn’t notice him, yet he knew his boyfriend was more observant than that. It was one of the many things he loved about him. He also was curious on what would happen if Adam did find him.
He didn’t have to wait long to find out, as he heard Adam start to ascend the ladder with a string of muttering and cursing. The only words that could be made out were, “Ronan,” and “That asshole.”
Dammit, Ronan couldn’t wait. He snuck over to the ladder and peeked over. Of course Adam spotted him immediately. His ice colored eyes sharpened like a cat’s and his eyebrows knitted together. Ronan gave him his best smile and leaned on the ladder post. “What you saying about me down there, Parrish?”
“Oh, fuck you!” Adam put on a burst of speed up the ladder and flung himself into Ronan. He snickered as he flipped Adam onto his back and held one of his arms down by his thin wrist. Thin, but definitely not weak. It took Ronan some shifting around to get his bodyweight in the right spot to hold him and his wandering hands down. Adam knew right where he was most ticklish, and this wasn’t one of those times where that information was good for him.
Adam’s eyes no longer met Ronan’s. Instead, he was thinking. Ronan could discern that expression from a mile away. He leaned further into that beautiful face of his and murmured, "Ah, so you thought you could get me back that easily, pretty boy?"
The look on Adam's face made it apparent that he did know, but he wanted to try anyway. His eyes hadn't yet met Ronan's. He smiled. Adam was always in it until the end.
Ronan's eyes flicked to Adam's lips. They were dry, as he always forgot to wear chapstick, but that didn't make them any less easy on the eyes. He leaned in slowly to feel them in action, but Adam moved his head the other way and crossed his arms. There was an angry muttering from those lips.
"Huh?"
He was louder this time. "You're not getting a kiss that easily after that stunt," Adam's cheeks reddened lightly, "no matter how hot you look above me."
Well, Ronan did not mind that. He gave him a toothy smile, "Wow, just this gets you going, Parrish?"
"You asshole." Adam met his eyes. "It's not like that. And stop distracting me." Ronan traced along his arms, feeling the dips and smoothness of them. He worshiped everything on Adam and he wanted to let him know that.
Suddenly, a hand shot up and grabbed his face in an attempt to stop Ronan. He laughed, "That's going to fuckin' stop me from touching you? Cause I can't see?"
"No, but it's certainly distracting you." Parrish's hands were immediately on Ronan's sides, furiously tickling him. Oh gosh, Adam really did have him.
He fell on top of Adam in a fit of laughter, letting the other get the high ground. He thought Adam would stop tickling him immediately, but he did not. In fact, he pushed his shirt up so his feather-light fingers could go to town even further. Fuck, Ronan thought. How was he going to get out of this?
Ronan scrambled against the ground at first trying to gain purchase, but there was really nothing at all to gain from that except for a splinter or two. He gave up to the clutches of Adam and gave into the waves of laughs he was holding in.
His hands danced along his sides with fervor for what felt like forever. They moved and moved until they began to feel like they were everywhere at once. Like Chainsaw’s feathers when she flaps them on his shoulder, brushing them all about his skin. To be fair, maybe Adam's hands were everywhere at once. Ronan wouldn't put that feat above his partner.
When Ronan's silent laughs became silent for a little too long, Adam decided that was when to stop. A slow agonizing stop that made Ronan thought he had, but no, it was a premature pause.
Only the sound of Ronan's breaths filled the room as he caught them. "Ass-" Another breath, "hole." There was a small smile playing on his boyfriend's lips. His lover, the only person that would ever get out alive for what he had just done, and that smile said he knew that.
Ronan reached an unsteady hand up to Adam's face to caress his cheek. So soft. No matter what amount of work he did throughout the day, his skin would always be so soft. If the minor scrape or bruise occurred, Ronan always fixed it as much as he could. Band aids for cuts and kisses for bruises, whether they’re physical or emotional. That was his motto when it came to Adam.
"You know Parrish…can we just say…we're even now?" Ronan's voice came out rough and uneven from all the laughing done. His ribs ached from the exertion and his throat let him know it was there. His partner's hands still held onto his hips, which warmed the spots they touched considerably.
Adam sighed, "It's hard to be mad at you for long Ronan. So fine." He slid down until he used Ronan's chest as a pillow. "Happy now?"
The floor of the hayloft was dirty and uncomfortable, with pieces of hay all about poking and prodding his skin. Ronan put his arms around his boyfriend and grinned, placing a kiss on his head.
"Yes, very."