6 - Camping & Batman's secret identity

Asterius was sitting close to the fire when Theseus got back to him, poking the wood around a little bit with an iron stick. There was a pot at his side, one that looked like it had seen many and many days out in a camping - but it was still clean and usable, of course. He turned around to look at his boyfriend and smiled at him. "I will if you wish. It's not actually as difficult as it looks", he answered, inviting him to sit close. "I'll show you how to cook what we have."
It was fairly simple actually - they just needed to pour the canned food inside the pot with some water and let it boil slowly on the fire, stirring it from time to time. In the end they both got a decent bean and potato soup-like thing, warm and filling.

"I didn't mean that they'd find you attractive, just that you look very reassuring and kind and kids like that", Dean protested weakly, slightly pouting at being teased before grinning at Castiel. "But you do appeal to me, yes. A lot. Even before you started doing those exercises for your shoulders, which - just to say - I could help with, since I am in the water polo team." He winked at him.

Theseus was actually pleasantly surprised at their ability not to burn their dinner - and he'd go on and on about how Asterius needed to keep teaching him how to do it. He was apparently a real disaster in the kitchen, even more so than Carleen.
"I've tried to microwave a can of Mac'n cheese once, and it wrecked the device in a loud 'pang'," He explained to Asterius, as if PUTTING A METAL THINGY IN A MICROWAVE WAS A GOOD THING.*

Castiel let out a startled chuckle and ran a hand on his face. "I. Hrm. We could do that, yes." He paused for a bit, before he smiled at Dean, a little sheepish. "I'll admit I started doing it to appeal to you, and. Well. It felt quite intimidating to stand next to you in the bathroom before." They had definitely crossed path there - when one of them was merely brushing his teeth and the other had a laundry to start. And oh boy did water polo give Dean wide, muscular shoulders.


* Fun fact: one of my roommates once put foil in the microwave and then told me the microwave was definitely broken because it was making sparks. When I asked her what was inside I was left yelling at her and she was not one of those I babysitted.

Asterius was staring at Theseus with a wide frown and a worried, incredulous expression as he described the barbaric way he had treated that poor microwave. "You're- you're not supposed to... microwave it while it's in the can", he said slowly, as if he didn't believe what he had just said. "Never microwave cans or foil or paper." He didn't mention that it was basically the first rule one learned in the kitchen. He preferred to avoid. He just shook his his head. Theseus you handsome, handsome dumb man.

Dean threw him a charming grin. "I had figured. I'm kind of honored." He tilted his head. "But you don't need to feel intimidated - I have teammates who are way more impressive than me. Your shoulders have quite a nice shape too", he added, nodding towards Castiel's arms. "Along with. Everything else."

"I see," Theseus said, nodding very seriously at the news. "And I now know too that you're supposed to open the can and pour its content in the pan, thanks to you!" He grinned at Asterius and bumped his side with his elbow, before he finished his own meal.
The dumbest himbo the world had ever bore: Theseus Mishra, ladies and gentlemen.
He stretched a bit while still sitting, and smiled at Asterius. "Well. It's getting colder now. Do we have a blanket to share?"

Castiel smiled at Dean more genuinely. He kindly complimented him back, and eventually had to let go of his hand when they were served their pizzas. He might have been dining with Dean almost every night since they had moved in together, but that night felt quite different.
It felt filled with promises, and a new start for them both. Hell, he was so happy about it he didn't resist the urge to even text Horknath to let him know that he had finally met his secret internet friend, who he had a crush on - he had eventually admitted it to his best friend when prompted about it. "Bruce is actually very nice. I didn't even realize we had so much in common. Namely, the same apartment keys."

Asterius had simply stared more at Theseus, not really knowing what to say in front of all that... mindless innocence. No, he wasn't going to say stupidity. But in the end he simply sighed, mentally deciding to never let Theseus anywhere close to a kitchen, and finished his own dinner as well.
"We do", he nodded as he laid his empty plate on top of his boyfriend's. "Do you want to stay close to the fire as we share a blanket, outside for another little while? Or do you want to get in the tent already?", he asked.

And Dean, on his side, merrily texted Carleen about meeting his internet crush. "Hey, looks like Robin and Castiel share a lot of stuff, you know? Same hair, same eye color. Same name. Same surname. Same super handsome roommate."
Horknath would probably not really get it right away. He needed to stare at the message for a little while before he got it and quickly messaged Castiel back. "Wait. You mean- Dean? Bruce was Dean all along!? No way!"

Theseus hesitated. "We don't have to sleep right away, right? Then I suppose we could go inside our tent, and... get comfortable." He tried hard not to think about getting necessarily intimate! Surely there was plenty of room in that tent so that he wouldn't need to press himself tightly against Asterius-
Who was he kidding, of course he'd snuggle as close to Asterius as he physically could.

Carleen too stared at her phone for a few seconds, before she let out a pleased squeal and chuckled. She apologized to Horknath - who she was definitely spending the evening with, given that both their brothers were away - and quickly typed back to Dean. "You're kidding me!! How did he react to the news? And you?!"
Castiel smiled to himself, and replied to Horknath. "Indeed. As an interesting turn of events - we might have developed feelings for each other, but were both trying hard to deflect them towards our online personas. Undoing the veil upon that whole mascarade seems to have relieved both of us."

Asterius bit back a little smile. He really enjoyed to sleep close to Theseus, and if he had to be honest, he had waited for the moment when they'd lay close to each other in the tent to rest - maybe chat for a while as they snuggled close together to keep warm.
Not. Necessarily getting intimate, sure. But maybe some kissing could be arranged. He sure hoped so.
"Alright", he agreed with a gentle nod, getting up from his seat. "I will go wash our pot at the basin, and throw away our plastic. Do you need me to point the bathroom at you?" He threw a long glance at him. "You won't want to get up in the middle of the night to go, believe me. Moving will be impossible." He meant for the fact that it was going to be quite cold, of course - and for the fact that he was probably going to be far too comfortable having him in his arms to let him go away.

Horknath signaled Carleen not to worry and quickly messaged Castiel back. "Well - I'm very glad for both of you! It's fun that this app has brought us good luck in the end. Have fun on your date!" He glanced up at Carleen, beaming. "So Castiel is dating Dean!"
Dean grinned. "Well, we were both. Surprised, to say the least. I bursted out laughing like a maniac because c'mon, what are the chances that I get a crush on two people that are literally the same guy, right? But... we were both very happy to find out the truth, from what I gather. So, there's that."

Theseus blinked a few times, and agreed to be showed the way to the bathroom. "Why would it be impossible, though? Back where I used to go camping, I could get out during the night! No one stopped me when I did, anyway. Or are there bears around, perhaps?" He asked, with a sudden glint of interest in his eyes.
'Wrestle a bear' was definitely on his bucket list. Not that he might die any soon, but. He had made a list, just in case.

Carleen chuckled. "He is! Oh, wow. I'm glad for them. Dean was really bummed when we all thought that there was no chance for them to get together." She smiled fondly when she looked at Dean's last message, and typed back to him. "Well, if that didn't scare him away, then he's the one. Don't let him go. And have a fun date!"

Asterius snorted, throwing an amused glance at Theseus. Only his boyfriend could sound almost excited at the prospect of meeting a bear while out in the wilderness. "There aren't bear alerts in this area", he answered reassuringly. "And it's not their season anyway. I was just thinking that it will be very cold during the night." He paused. "And I don't think it will be possible to persuade me to let you out of my arms, once you're there."

Horknath held back a smile. "Cas was probably just as bummed. He thought Dean wasn't interested in him", he added, resting his chin on his palm as he lovingly watched over Carleen's sweet smile. Smitten, as per his usual.
Dean simply answered her with an excited "You bet! Have a good one too!" along with a little thumbs up emoji.

It took a few seconds for Theseus to catch on, and then he scoffed, flustered. "Oh! Oh, well! If you can't let go of me out of love, then indeed I'd better get prepared," he replied with a grin, trying hard to look confident. It probably managed to fool a lot of people still, but Asterius knew him well by now!

Carleen smiled to herself when she got Dean's answer, before she noticed Horknath's enamored look. She smiled at him, and leaned closer to him to peck his lips. "Say. Do you think we could watch that movie while lying down on the couch?" She caressed his torso with a shy smile. Truth be told, lying down in Horknath's arms while watching a movie was something she had been wanting to do for a while.
The perks of having a super tall and buff boyfriend: he looked very comfortable.

Asterius could barely hold back a smile now. Indeed he had caught on Theseus' fluster - it never failed to bring him an absurd amount of joy that he was able to tease that reaction out of him. "Good", he mused, walking closer to his boyfriend. "You wouldn't be able to anyway. I'll remind you that I am well known for my inescapable grasp and firm grip.

Horknath bit on his lip - and smiled back at Carleen, still as shyly. "Sure", he answered in the end, catching her hand to leave a little kiss on the palm. Truth be told he couldn't wait to cuddle up to his girlfriend while watching a movie! "You can pick whatever you'd like to watch."
The perks of having a smaller and very cute girlfriend: she fitted perfectly against him for cuddle time.

Theseus bit on his lower lip briefly, and let out a flustered chuckle. Oh, now Asterius' words made his body particularly warm up. "Well. It's true with wrestling, but I'll admit I've never tried to escape said grip anytime we're just laying together-"
Laying together, yes. Platonically, for now. Maybe more literally soon.
"W-Well, then I'd better get going! And you should to, for I won't let go of you easily either!"

Carleen smiled at Horknath, and went up to look for a movie.
She definitely picked a romantic, sweet one. She put it on, went to rub Spike's belly for a bit and finally settled against Horknath with a pleased sigh, before she let out a soft chuckle. "Mh ~ You're so warm, I won't even need a blanket," she told him with a fond smile.

Asterius let that smile escape him in the end. Yes. Yes, he was definitely enjoying himself. "Hm. Well, I hope you won't", he simply answered, gently cupping Theseus' cheeks with his hands. "I want you to hold me close too." He leaned in to leave a gentle, soft kiss on his boyfriend's lips - maybe it was better not to fluster him any further, or he'd end up going away too fast and possibly tripping in their tent (and after all the time they had needed to pull that up that was a definite no). Then he simply pointed Theseus in the direction of the bathroom, picked up their trash and dirty pot - as well as his own toothbrush so that he'd go directly to the bathroom afterwards - and walked away towards the trash bins.

Spike had happily wagged his tail and lazily rolled on his belly to let Carleen pet him to her heart's content, but didn't bother moving all that much - he had already taken his nightly walk, and had now entered the sleepy pup hours.
Horknath chuckled. "Happy to be of service", he answered jokingly, wrapping an arm around her to keep her warmer - and closer. "That's the main perk about dating someone with orc blood in their veins. Or the main downside, if you're dating this someone in summer", he added with an apologetic smile.

Theseus was probably brushing his teeth already by the time Asterius joined the bathroom. He made him some space by the sink, and patiently waited for his boyfriend to be done.
Read 'patiently' as 'he was speaking the whole time'. He very rarely kept quiet, and he only was quiet when they laid down together, and kissed or when he was slowly falling asleep in Asterius' arms.

Carleen chuckled. "Oh, don't worry about it too much. I've lived several summer breaks in India in my life already. I know what 'too hot' feels like. We'll find a way to snuggle together during Summer." She pecked his lips, and finally settled with her head on his chest.

Asterius, as per his usual, quietly listened to Theseus' endless stream of words as he brushed his teeth - occasionally answering with a short sentence or a chuckle, depending on what his boyfriend was saying of course, and was still listening to him as they made their way back to the tent.
And again, still listening to him as, once inside, he started to get undressed after gathering his pajama pants, starting from shrugging off his jacket and unbuttoning his shirt.
And his pants.
To his defense, he was just getting ready for bed as per his usual, without shame for nakedness and content about the thought that soon he'd be on a comfortable inflatable mattress and under a couple of warm blankets together with his boyfriend.

Horknath sighed happily and pecked her on the top of her head when she settled against his chest, before resting his cheek on it as they watched their movie, his arm still settled around her.

Theseus too had started undressing, but he paused when he was supposed to get his pants off.
It was one thing to undress next to Asterius out of necessity, or in the locker rooms of their uni. When he had done so at his parents' place, in his own bedroom, there was an added sense of intimacy that he had never sensed before.
But now, after having spend almost two weeks looking into ways to soon bring their relationship to the next level? Well. That view was suddenly distracting. Inviting.
He wet his lips without even thinking about it. It probably took some time for him to resume his undressing, and he turned his back to Asterius for once, while he put on his pajama pants. Forgetting momentarily that he had stopped talking halfway through a tale of one of his sports feats.

Asterius had grown a little worried as Theseus suddenly fell silent - in the middle of a very passionate retelling of one of his sportive victories even! He turned around to look at him, raising a brow when he noticed that uncharacteristic display of modesty from his boyfriend. A thought came suddenly to him that maybe this situation was way too intimate all of a sudden, at least to Theseus' tastes - and that maybe he hadn't made things any easier by teasing him so. His gaze softened and he sighed, pulling up his pajama pants himself. And chastizing himself a little bit when he caught himself staring at the brief glimpse of his boyfriend's butt. "Everything alright, Theseus?", he asked gently while sitting on the mattress.

Asterius' worried tone actuall dragged Theseus out of his own thoughts. "Why, of course Asterius! Why wouldn't I be!" He faced his boyfriend again, since he was dressed, and smiled widely at him. Since Asterius was already sat down on the mattress, he came to sit by his side, and laid a hand on his chest.
Only to stare at said chest, getting distracted as the word 'soft' escaped his lips, unprompted.

Asterius held back a little snort, but didn't move under Theseus' touch. "Thank you, I suppose", he answered with an amused expression on his face, before laying his hand over his boyfriend's in a tender gesture. He was still a bit worried, yes.
"It looked like you were trying to hide away from me before. Is it something I said, or did? You stopped talking so abruptly-"

Theseus felt heat rising up to his cheeks. Oh. Oh no, Asterius could see right through him. Then again- he maybe just wanted to hear the end of his story! Then again, his mouth was his worst enemy; it spoke before he could form a coherent thought. "Hide from you! No, Asterius, I was merely intimidated by-" he trailed off. And sighed. And rested his forehead against Asterius' shoulder. "Bear with me, love, for I'm afraid I need to contain those sinful thoughts a bit longer." It probably didn't make much sense to Asterius, who couldn't read through his mind. But Theseus was definitely distracted.

Asterius frowned a little - indeed, for as good as he was at seeing right through Theseus' antics, he was still not a mind reader. In the end he gently wrapped both his arms around Theseus, pulling him against his chest. "You don't need to be intimidated", he started, murmuring soothingly against his hair. "I know that we're in a different type of relationship, now. And that we both know we are attracted to each other. But it doesn't need to change anything", he tried to reassure him. "I'm not making a move in any direction before you do."
Yeah, he had assumed that by 'intimidated', Theseus meant that he was a little self conscious about being naked in the same room as him seeing as there was a very noticeable sexual tension by now.
"... sinful thoughts, though?" As usual, Theseus had a fun way to word things.

Asterius' gesture and soft words were more than enough to have Theseus relax in his arms, and close his eyes while he leaned against his boyfriend. Asterius was right, of course, he was always right! Nothing to be intimidated about there. He didn't quite register that bit about the fact that Asterius would wait for him to make a move. Or maybe he did, unconsciously.
He raised his eyebrows and smiled to himself when Asterius asked him to clarify his last words, but kept his eyes closed. "Well I'm afraid that I'm not immune to your charms, dear Asterius, and the bit of learning and training I have done so far largely contributed to stimulate my desire for you."

Asterius scoffed at the mention of his 'charms', even though he sounded more amused than disgruntled. "If we're talking about charms, then know I am completely bewitched by yours", he started, before stopping abruptly and flushing as he realized fully what Theseus had just said. His desire towards him, uh. "Learning and- training?", he asked, a little confused. He didn't know if he could take the explanation for that, though, so he shook his head. "I desire you as well. I just want you to know we will do this on your terms", he answered then, leaning in to kiss his forehead.

Theseus hummed pleasantly when Asterius confessed that he was 'bewitched by his charms', and smiled to himself at the thought. Oh, how warm it made him feel inside!
He opened his eyes to look back at his boyfriend, and smiled at him, caressing his cheek. "I'll let you know when I'll be ready. It's just a matter of time. I'm doing my best, but I've been advised not to rush it- any injury might make us wait longer." He straightened up to peck Asterius' lips.

If anything Asterius was even more confused about how Theseus was actually preparing himself for their future intimacy - but he dismissed it in the end, pecking him back and relaxing under his touch.
He was definitely overthinking. He was probably just talking with someone who knew how this kind of things worked between two men, and they had rightfully told him to wait until he was feeling ready enough.
Yeah, probably just that.
Why did he talk about injuries though-
"Alright", he simply answered in the end, shrugging the thought away. His gaze softened as he ran his hands over Theseus' arms. "It's getting cold. Want to get under the blankets?"