(no subject)
Title: Hyperopia (2/?)
Series: Power Rangers Ninja Storm
Characters, Pairing: Cam Watanabe, Hunter Bradley
Rating: PG
Author: Anthy
It was ridiculous, all of it. First it was the avoidance that evolved to complete disregard. Hunter found himself practically latched to his brother, even when it became apparent that Blake wanted company from someone other than his older brother. He entertained himself as he watched Blake eagerly pursue Tori, though it irked him on equal levels. She was the only person who seemed to be able to get Cam to lower his guard, and it was quite fitting for her to be a bitch in his mind. Tori wasn’t, but nonetheless Blake and Cam brightening around her-- it seemed justified in him acting as if she were.
Blake chastised him before their first ‘date’ to behave and try to be civil to the girl, especially since Hunter insisted on coming along anyway.
"I got the tickets!" Hunter protested. "They were supposed to be for us to go."
Blake crossed his arms. "Quit acting like a baby and make some friends, Bro. Come on, what loser wants to hang up under his baby brother all of the time?" Instead of a smart reply, Hunter put Blake in an all-encompassing headlock, and slapped Blake‘s hair with the festival program. Blake slid free and took a mock fighting stance. "Or maybe you could tell me what you’ve been hiding under me for, eh?"
"Where’s your date? Maybe she woke up to the fact it’s you and isn’t coming." Hunter leaned against the wall, waving off Blake’s questioning.
"Or maybe you can, you know, talk." Blake said, preparing himself for a Crane Kick ala Karate Kid as hopped on one leg and he held the other in the air. "And not brood."
"That‘s helpful." Hunter laughed at his brother’s antics, to which Blake playfully growled and dropped his pose, punching Hunter in the stomach. "And so lame."
"So, are you going to spill, or what?" Blake inquired once more, but with a faint gush of wind, Tori came rushing up the stairs of the theater, completely throwing the Navy Ranger off-guard. Okay, today she could be his new best friend, Hunter thought as he greeted her with a cheerful smile.
------
He had been irritated, more than irritated. Cam kept his time and thoughts bound to his duties in Ninja Ops, his productivity on his projects and satellite monitoring had all but doubled since that night. Though he could now barely consider what occurred to be a kiss, there was little dismissing what it could have been in his mind. Or why Hunter thought it would have been a grand idea to try such a thing on him. The time was too short to adequately kiss back, though on his downtime Cam found himself pondering whether he would. Even worse, he couldn’t make up his mind why it angered him so, the kiss he didn’t dislike, and he found Hunter tolerable most times. He thought of dropping these thoughts as hypothetical questions to Tori, but she seemed preoccupied with a Thunder Ranger of her own. That only served to irritate him even more.
It was easy to brush off his father’s inquiries, especially after Blake had managed to break the miniature television Cam had just completed.
"Talking it out would solve many misunderstandings, my son."
"Dad, there aren’t any-" Cam said with a sigh, though the alarms from the mainframe directed their attentions to more important things.
----
Five rounds and his sweater still reeked. He could have left it with the loads of laundry that Tori was obligated to clean, but Blake was insistant on asking her out again, much to Hunter's annoyance. The bell of his apartment rang, and he glanced over his shoulder.
"It’s unlocked." he called out, pretty certain that it was another case of Blake not wanting to unlock the front door for himself. Probably had -her- with him too…
…though a glasses-wearing Cam turned out to be the appropriate answer.
----
It was impulse and desperation that led Cam to ring the Bradley’s doorbell. Blake accosting Tori away just as Cam was going to tell her of the problem he wasn’t having was the last straw. He had to talk to someone, and as luck would have a sadistic streak, Hunter was the only person left. "It’s unlocked." Hunter’s voice called out, and with a deep breath he stepped inside.
There he found Hunter in the kitchen, sitting cross-legged on the tiled floor, a white towel draped over his head. He was fresh out of the shower, barely dry, only clad in a pair of dark jeans. Hunter was holding a sweater to his nose, looking for all of the world ready to rip the garment to shreds. Before he could speak, the smell hit him. "Ugh!"
Hunter glanced up at the noise and jumped to his feet, lowering the towel like it was a hood. "It’s the sweater, it still smells fresh from the popcorn vendor."
"Half-cup of white vinegar and a half-cup of baking soda." Cam sat on the counter, his hands clasped at his knees. Hunter’s hair looked good while wet, the hair color almost a sandy brown, the natural fall of it gave a clean appearance. Blue eyes remained staring at Cam with a deep scowl, and Cam cleared his throat. "No, I didn’t come here for you."
"Yeah, I figured." Hunter said with snort as he turned to throw his sweater back in the washer. "It’s her isn’t it?"
"Yeah."
Hunter pulled a red t-shirt from the dryer and pulled it over his shoulders. "Yeah, well, me too."
"Jealous?" Cam raised an eyebrow at the other teen.
"Damn straight. That’s my brother. And I don’t know what you two see in her, but how am I to know she is right for him? I don’t want to watch him build himself up just to see her beat him back down and then be the one putting him back together." Hunter concluded his rant by leaning on the counter beside Cam’s legs. From where he sat, Cam could smell the faint buttery scent that still lingered in Hunter’s hair.
"Given your initial dealings with us, I have more to worry about in regards to your brother." he commented with a shake of his head. Hunter snapped up his head to glare up at Cam.
"And what’s that supposed to mean?"
"She could do better?"
"Oh, like you?"
"No!" Cam rolled his eyes. "Tori’s like a sister to me. I don’t bother retaining friends, if you haven’t noticed."
Hunter crossed his arms, immediately reminded that they weren‘t supposed to be talking to each other, much less understanding where the other was coming from. "I’ve noticed."
"What, are you jealous?"
"Not when you’re scared of people." Hunter noted with good-natured humor, his smile widening as they eased back into their old routine.
"I’m not."
"You are."
"I’m not."
"Take those off then." Hunter made a swipe for the bridge of Cam’s glasses.
"No!" Cam turned his head out of reach, pushing Hunter’s arm away.
"Can I wear them?" Hunter asked, looking up at Cam with wide-eyes, though it was contradicted by the Cheshire-cat grin that remained stuck on his face. "It’s not direct eye-contact, less nerve-wrecking, right?"
"I’m not letting you wear my glasses, that’s not hygienic."
"They look better on me."
"Do not."
"Do too."
"Are you five?"
"Wanna make a bet?" Hunter chuckled and started to scour the cabinet over Cam’s head.
"Don’t answer a question with a question, especially a rhetorical one."
Hunter turned his attention to Cam, almost nose to nose with the other teen. "What, are you five?"
"Hunter?" Cam asked in a deadpan expression.
"Cameron?" Hunter mimicked. They held each other’s gaze, a few seconds spanning to many before Cam broke. He laughed and pushed at Hunter’s shoulders.
"This is going nowhere." he admitted, leaning back to rest on his hands.
"Well, ball’s in your court." Hunter made a motion with his hand as he started to rummage in the next cabinet overhead. "What else is on your mind?"
"You."
"Me?" Hunter blinked as he extracted a box of baking soda.
"And your obsession on when I should or shouldn’t wear my glasses."
"Not about…"
"No, I’ve made up my mind about that already."
"Care to clue me in on what that is?"
"No." Cam smirked, hopping off the counter.
"Hmph." Hunter began to measure out the baking soda when he heard the door open. "Where you going?"
"Home. I got what I came for." Cam stepped back into the kitchen. A little voice in his head told him it was a bad idea to return, but he paid little attention to it. When he was greeted with a sideways-grin on a faintly irritated face, the comforting feeling was worth the risk.
"Need to work on showing up and leaving unannounced , you know." Hunter noted, setting the box on the side of the washer.
"I’ll keep that in mind." Cam stepped into the kitchen, impulse entertaining a particular thought that stayed with him from the moment he spotted Hunter sitting on the tile. He gripped the collar of Hunter’s shirt and pulled the other boy forward. He pressed his lips against Hunter‘s, tilting his head back and away before the Crimson Ranger could have a chance to respond. "I‘m leaving." He murmured as he gauged Hunter’s expression, his own voice seeming to lack enough air to sound normal.
"If you must." Hunter’s face ranged from confusion to a slow-grin. He leaned forward in attempt to kiss Cam again but the other boy shook his head and stepped out of reach.
"Imperative." Cam grinned. On my terms, take it or leave it…
Hunter stared at Cam for a moment before nodding. "See you around then."
Cam smiled over his shoulder then made a brisk exit out of Hunter and Blake’s apartment. He was unsure on how he felt of the Bradleys, his interaction with Hunter, or how to deal with Tori’s growing interest in Blake’s attention. Nonetheless, nothing passed the interim like a good experiment, the other solutions will come to fruition later.
tbc
Series: Power Rangers Ninja Storm
Characters, Pairing: Cam Watanabe, Hunter Bradley
Rating: PG
Author: Anthy
It was ridiculous, all of it. First it was the avoidance that evolved to complete disregard. Hunter found himself practically latched to his brother, even when it became apparent that Blake wanted company from someone other than his older brother. He entertained himself as he watched Blake eagerly pursue Tori, though it irked him on equal levels. She was the only person who seemed to be able to get Cam to lower his guard, and it was quite fitting for her to be a bitch in his mind. Tori wasn’t, but nonetheless Blake and Cam brightening around her-- it seemed justified in him acting as if she were.
Blake chastised him before their first ‘date’ to behave and try to be civil to the girl, especially since Hunter insisted on coming along anyway.
"I got the tickets!" Hunter protested. "They were supposed to be for us to go."
Blake crossed his arms. "Quit acting like a baby and make some friends, Bro. Come on, what loser wants to hang up under his baby brother all of the time?" Instead of a smart reply, Hunter put Blake in an all-encompassing headlock, and slapped Blake‘s hair with the festival program. Blake slid free and took a mock fighting stance. "Or maybe you could tell me what you’ve been hiding under me for, eh?"
"Where’s your date? Maybe she woke up to the fact it’s you and isn’t coming." Hunter leaned against the wall, waving off Blake’s questioning.
"Or maybe you can, you know, talk." Blake said, preparing himself for a Crane Kick ala Karate Kid as hopped on one leg and he held the other in the air. "And not brood."
"That‘s helpful." Hunter laughed at his brother’s antics, to which Blake playfully growled and dropped his pose, punching Hunter in the stomach. "And so lame."
"So, are you going to spill, or what?" Blake inquired once more, but with a faint gush of wind, Tori came rushing up the stairs of the theater, completely throwing the Navy Ranger off-guard. Okay, today she could be his new best friend, Hunter thought as he greeted her with a cheerful smile.
------
He had been irritated, more than irritated. Cam kept his time and thoughts bound to his duties in Ninja Ops, his productivity on his projects and satellite monitoring had all but doubled since that night. Though he could now barely consider what occurred to be a kiss, there was little dismissing what it could have been in his mind. Or why Hunter thought it would have been a grand idea to try such a thing on him. The time was too short to adequately kiss back, though on his downtime Cam found himself pondering whether he would. Even worse, he couldn’t make up his mind why it angered him so, the kiss he didn’t dislike, and he found Hunter tolerable most times. He thought of dropping these thoughts as hypothetical questions to Tori, but she seemed preoccupied with a Thunder Ranger of her own. That only served to irritate him even more.
It was easy to brush off his father’s inquiries, especially after Blake had managed to break the miniature television Cam had just completed.
"Talking it out would solve many misunderstandings, my son."
"Dad, there aren’t any-" Cam said with a sigh, though the alarms from the mainframe directed their attentions to more important things.
----
Five rounds and his sweater still reeked. He could have left it with the loads of laundry that Tori was obligated to clean, but Blake was insistant on asking her out again, much to Hunter's annoyance. The bell of his apartment rang, and he glanced over his shoulder.
"It’s unlocked." he called out, pretty certain that it was another case of Blake not wanting to unlock the front door for himself. Probably had -her- with him too…
…though a glasses-wearing Cam turned out to be the appropriate answer.
----
It was impulse and desperation that led Cam to ring the Bradley’s doorbell. Blake accosting Tori away just as Cam was going to tell her of the problem he wasn’t having was the last straw. He had to talk to someone, and as luck would have a sadistic streak, Hunter was the only person left. "It’s unlocked." Hunter’s voice called out, and with a deep breath he stepped inside.
There he found Hunter in the kitchen, sitting cross-legged on the tiled floor, a white towel draped over his head. He was fresh out of the shower, barely dry, only clad in a pair of dark jeans. Hunter was holding a sweater to his nose, looking for all of the world ready to rip the garment to shreds. Before he could speak, the smell hit him. "Ugh!"
Hunter glanced up at the noise and jumped to his feet, lowering the towel like it was a hood. "It’s the sweater, it still smells fresh from the popcorn vendor."
"Half-cup of white vinegar and a half-cup of baking soda." Cam sat on the counter, his hands clasped at his knees. Hunter’s hair looked good while wet, the hair color almost a sandy brown, the natural fall of it gave a clean appearance. Blue eyes remained staring at Cam with a deep scowl, and Cam cleared his throat. "No, I didn’t come here for you."
"Yeah, I figured." Hunter said with snort as he turned to throw his sweater back in the washer. "It’s her isn’t it?"
"Yeah."
Hunter pulled a red t-shirt from the dryer and pulled it over his shoulders. "Yeah, well, me too."
"Jealous?" Cam raised an eyebrow at the other teen.
"Damn straight. That’s my brother. And I don’t know what you two see in her, but how am I to know she is right for him? I don’t want to watch him build himself up just to see her beat him back down and then be the one putting him back together." Hunter concluded his rant by leaning on the counter beside Cam’s legs. From where he sat, Cam could smell the faint buttery scent that still lingered in Hunter’s hair.
"Given your initial dealings with us, I have more to worry about in regards to your brother." he commented with a shake of his head. Hunter snapped up his head to glare up at Cam.
"And what’s that supposed to mean?"
"She could do better?"
"Oh, like you?"
"No!" Cam rolled his eyes. "Tori’s like a sister to me. I don’t bother retaining friends, if you haven’t noticed."
Hunter crossed his arms, immediately reminded that they weren‘t supposed to be talking to each other, much less understanding where the other was coming from. "I’ve noticed."
"What, are you jealous?"
"Not when you’re scared of people." Hunter noted with good-natured humor, his smile widening as they eased back into their old routine.
"I’m not."
"You are."
"I’m not."
"Take those off then." Hunter made a swipe for the bridge of Cam’s glasses.
"No!" Cam turned his head out of reach, pushing Hunter’s arm away.
"Can I wear them?" Hunter asked, looking up at Cam with wide-eyes, though it was contradicted by the Cheshire-cat grin that remained stuck on his face. "It’s not direct eye-contact, less nerve-wrecking, right?"
"I’m not letting you wear my glasses, that’s not hygienic."
"They look better on me."
"Do not."
"Do too."
"Are you five?"
"Wanna make a bet?" Hunter chuckled and started to scour the cabinet over Cam’s head.
"Don’t answer a question with a question, especially a rhetorical one."
Hunter turned his attention to Cam, almost nose to nose with the other teen. "What, are you five?"
"Hunter?" Cam asked in a deadpan expression.
"Cameron?" Hunter mimicked. They held each other’s gaze, a few seconds spanning to many before Cam broke. He laughed and pushed at Hunter’s shoulders.
"This is going nowhere." he admitted, leaning back to rest on his hands.
"Well, ball’s in your court." Hunter made a motion with his hand as he started to rummage in the next cabinet overhead. "What else is on your mind?"
"You."
"Me?" Hunter blinked as he extracted a box of baking soda.
"And your obsession on when I should or shouldn’t wear my glasses."
"Not about…"
"No, I’ve made up my mind about that already."
"Care to clue me in on what that is?"
"No." Cam smirked, hopping off the counter.
"Hmph." Hunter began to measure out the baking soda when he heard the door open. "Where you going?"
"Home. I got what I came for." Cam stepped back into the kitchen. A little voice in his head told him it was a bad idea to return, but he paid little attention to it. When he was greeted with a sideways-grin on a faintly irritated face, the comforting feeling was worth the risk.
"Need to work on showing up and leaving unannounced , you know." Hunter noted, setting the box on the side of the washer.
"I’ll keep that in mind." Cam stepped into the kitchen, impulse entertaining a particular thought that stayed with him from the moment he spotted Hunter sitting on the tile. He gripped the collar of Hunter’s shirt and pulled the other boy forward. He pressed his lips against Hunter‘s, tilting his head back and away before the Crimson Ranger could have a chance to respond. "I‘m leaving." He murmured as he gauged Hunter’s expression, his own voice seeming to lack enough air to sound normal.
"If you must." Hunter’s face ranged from confusion to a slow-grin. He leaned forward in attempt to kiss Cam again but the other boy shook his head and stepped out of reach.
"Imperative." Cam grinned. On my terms, take it or leave it…
Hunter stared at Cam for a moment before nodding. "See you around then."
Cam smiled over his shoulder then made a brisk exit out of Hunter and Blake’s apartment. He was unsure on how he felt of the Bradleys, his interaction with Hunter, or how to deal with Tori’s growing interest in Blake’s attention. Nonetheless, nothing passed the interim like a good experiment, the other solutions will come to fruition later.
tbc