Are you a campfire? Because you’re hot & I want s’more.
Pairing(s): Aleks/James (NovaHD) and… well, you’ll just have to find out.
Words: 4,045
AO3
Summary: Summer rolls around once more and really, there’s a tradition to uphold and the tents & camp fire are calling their name. Except Dan and Jordan are going to have their hands full keeping James & Aleks apart for a different reason. (Part of the ‘Is that a flicker in your eyes?’ universe.)
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Jordan ripped aside the tent door, glaring into the small hut. He couldn’t see Aleks’ face from where it was tucked beneath James’ chin and the two seemed to be sleeping but Jordan didn’t trust it.
“We need to wake them,” he hissed. He shoved one foot inside and would have ducked under the door if Dan hadn’t placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him. Jordan glared back at him.
“Leave them alone, Jordan. They’re sleeping, it’ll just be a big hassle and we have a long day tomorrow. Let James have some peace before we force him to go rock climbing,” Dan said. Jordan lurched slightly forward as he thought about storming into the tent. He wanted to rip open the sleeping bag, grab his son by the arm and drag him out. Only he sighed, took a step back and let the tent door fall closed. He watched Dan zip it up and forced a smile when Dan pat his shoulder.
They turned to their youngest two who were peering expectantly at them. Eddie had his hands clasped at his chest, large eyes at the ready and mouth already opening slightly to beg.
“I guess you two will have to sleep in the same tent tonight,” Dan said tiredly. He clamped his hands over his ears when Eddie and Seamus squealed simultaneously. “The key word is sleep – I don’t want to have to climb out of my tent to get you tw- oh, well I’ve been ignored.” Eddie and Seamus had zipped the tent door up so fast Dan could have sworn a gust of wind brushed past him. Jordan looked about ready to burst, his fingers curled into fists so tightly Dan was sure he must be drawing blood. He nudged his friend’s arm and nodded to their own tent.
“C’mon, the sooner we sleep the sooner the boys will be separated,” Dan said. Jordan nodded robotically and marched towards their tent. He snapped forward to get in and Dan wondered whether he’d have to buy some oil to make sure Jordan’s joints weren’t stiff. He chuckled at his own joke, surveyed their campsite and then followed his friend.
_-_
Aleks was warm. Unbearably so. He pushed away from the sleeping bag but found he was trapped. He pushed again, this time with a grunt. It hurt now, something hard pressing against his shoulders. Aleks begrudgingly opened one eye only to see James smirking back at him. Aleks hmphed, pushing again against James’ grip. His boyfriend held tight. He even leant forward and kissed Aleks’ forehead to rub it in. Aleks groaned again. He pushed, then he kicked James within the sleeping bag. James only laughed and pulled him closer. Aleks tried again to break free but James had strength and pure will against him. Aleks huffed, loud and clear so that James knew just how pissed off he’d become. Then he relented. He let himself fold up against James once more, tucked his head back into its proper position and sighed. James peppered his face with tickling kisses and Aleks wrinkled his nose.
“Will you stop that?” Aleks mumbled, though his mouth barely moved. He shook James off and tried to settle again. James blew against his face. He kissed Aleks lips when he huffed again, deepening it and kissing away the grumpy mood that Aleks had woken up in. Aleks’ hands snaked up past James’ shoulders and his fingers ran across his scalp. James shivered as it sent tingles down his body. He broke the kiss only to breathe and then pressed against Aleks once more. Aleks could get used to this. This was what a vacation was supposed to be. Relaxing, romantic… absolute bliss.
“That’s enough of that!” Jordan yanked the tent door open and stepped inside. He loomed, as best as he could when he had to bend at the waist, over the boys and glared. James reluctantly unzipped their sleeping bag. He shifted his arms and then Aleks spilled out of it, rolling onto his back and sighing as the fresh morning air brushed his body. Jordan still hunched expectantly, even daring to cough when Aleks didn’t move. Aleks shook his head at him.
“I’m waiting for you to leave so that I can go and get changed,” Aleks said.
“Nice try Aleks, your clothes are in the other tent.” Jordan folded his arms over his chest and smirked triumphantly. Aleks looked around and then he remembered he’d slept in James’ and Eddie’s tent the night before. He sighed and then smiled sweetly up at his father.
“Want to go and get my clothes for me?” Aleks tried. Jordan didn’t use any words, he didn’t need to. He had that stern father face, the one that made kids run and hide despite not doing anything wrong.
Eddie and Seamus laughed as Aleks emerged, still wearing only his boxers and his t-shirt. He clutched his dirty jeans over his thighs to hide as much as he could.
“I see London, I see France, I see Aleks’ underpants!” Eddie sang across the campsite. Aleks threw his jeans at him. They hit Eddie in the face and he sputtered, clawing the material away and coughing like he was hacking up a hairball. Aleks ducked into the tent and disappeared to get changed. Eddie held up the jeans now that he had them and frowned as they unfolded.
“These are Aleks’ jeans? They look more like our size,” Eddie said. Seamus shrugged.
“They probably are my jeans,” He said. Eddie threw them in his direction. Seamus didn’t even bother to catch them, just watched as they soared past and fell onto the dirty ground.
Jordan scowled when he saw them. He snatched them up and folded them over his arm. Seamus and Eddie looked away from him, Eddie going as far as to whistle when Jordan asked what had happened. Jordan didn’t push any further, too tired to bother with the two younger boys. He had bags under his eyes and kept glancing back at the tents to make sure Aleks had stayed in his own one. James emerged wearing the same thing he had yesterday, stretching his arms above his head and yawning. Dan shook his head at him.
“Change,” he said when James came wandering up to see what was for breakfast.
“There’s no point, I’ll just wear the same thing just… cleaner,” James said.
“Get changed or you’ll not get any breakfast.” Dan flipped the egg he was cooking. He’d intended it for Eddie but his youngest son had already willingly given it up to Seamus.
James stomped back to Seamus’ and Aleks’ tent but before he could unzip it, Jordan intercepted him. He held James in place by his shoulder, glowering down at the boy. Only when Aleks opened the tent door and stepped out, fully dressed, that Jordan let James go past. Aleks rolled his eyes at his father and pulled his beanie over his head. He’d gone for a more relaxed look this time, dark sweatpants and a hoodie that looked suspiciously too big to be his. Seamus gasped as he approached, pinching the loose material around Aleks’ leg and tugging.
“You’re not wearing skinny jeans! Are you okay? Feeling ill?” Seamus tugged again. Aleks slapped his hand away. He pulled on Seamus’ hair, straightened out the crimps his nightly braid had left.
“We’re going rock climbing dumbass, I wanted to be comfortable. You might want to think about putting this up,” Aleks pulled again. Seamus yelped.
Seamus smoothed his hair between his fingers and then curled the end around his index finger. It would be pretty annoying as they climbed, swinging behind him and getting in his eyes. He reached for the brush he’d used this morning and started to detangle the ends. He’d made it halfway around his head when Dan offered him his third egg sandwich of the morning. Seamus looked down at it in despair. He looked up when someone grabbed the brush and saw Aleks smiling down at him. He held his hand out and Seamus frowned.
“I don’t have any money for you,” he said as Aleks started to take over what he’d started.
“No, dumbass, I need your hair bobble.” Aleks pulled on the tie from where it sat around Seamus’ wrist. Seamus wriggled his fingers so that it could come off with ease. Once it had slipped off, Aleks pulled it over his own wrist. Seamus finally took his beloved egg sandwich from Dan, taking a big bite as Aleks brushed his hair.
“Aw,” James cooed as he approached. He pulled at his jacket as it rode up his stomach. Everyone could tell it wasn’t his, clearly too dark to belong to his wardrobe. He walked up to Eddie, running his fingers through his air. His nails scratched Eddie’s scalp in a way that wasn’t entirely pleasant. Eddie ducked his head away but James persisted, holding his head in place. “But Eddie, let me do your hair too!” James pleaded. Eddie yanked his head away. When their Dad offered James the next egg sandwich, Eddie snatched it and took a big bite before James could take it back. James smacked the side of his little brother’s head. A piece of egg white went flying out of his mouth and into the grass. James shrugged when Dan scolded him, stepping out of Eddie’s reach so that he couldn’t retaliate. He took Aleks’ phone from his sweatpants pocket and took a picture of the two brothers. Aleks stuck his tongue out as he pulled Seamus’ hair up into a ponytail. He tied it and let it go, fiddling with the tail once it dropped.
“Are we almost ready to go?” Jordan swung back and forth as he shifted his weight from his heel to his toe. The cooker sizzled as Dan cracked open another egg. “I guess not then.” Jordan muttered. He flittered around his sons, picking up the food that had flown from Eddie’s mouth and discarding it in their make-shift trash can. He wiped his hand on a napkin then, rubbing it against his finger until he had almost exfoliated the skin off. He dumped that in the make-shift trash can too.
“What are you so eager about? You couldn’t climb a tree, can’t imagine you climbing a rock,” Aleks said. He sat down in the grass, avoiding the spot he knew the egg had been.
“Excuse me Aleks, I climbed that tree,” Jordan said. “I just want to go out and do something, we’ve only got today and tomorrow morning and then that’s it. It’s all over.”
Dan shook his head at his friend, Jordan looked absolutely pitiful.
“For this year, Jordan. There’s always next year and the next and then the next until the boys are way too old to be going on vacation with us,” Dan said. He pat Jordan’s shoulder and pushed an egg sandwich into his hand.
“Yeah but next year, they’ll be older! Aleks might have grown a beard, Seamus’ hair will probably be down his waist and Eddie might not have braces – I don’t even remember Eddie without braces,” Jordan said. He could, of course, remember Eddie without braces. He could remember Eddie without teeth, babbling from a baby carrier as James and Aleks screamed at one another. He could remember them all that small, so tiny and so sweet. Now they were older, too old in Jordan’s opinion, and he loved the time that they spent at the campsite.
At home, his boys paid no attention to him. Aleks was either at Dan’s or in his room with James (the door kept open, always). Seamus and Eddie were getting more and more adventurous every day, going out in the world and exploring the neighbourhood. Jordan offered to take them places: the movies, the zoo or even a theme park but the boys were never too bothered. They were growing up and they didn’t need Jordan anymore. Yet here, in the campsite, they only had one another and their dads and so Jordan revelled in the fact that they all did things together. He didn’t want to give it up, not now – not so soon.
“Don’t worry Dad, we’ll keep coming back to this campsite until you can’t walk anymore,” Seamus reassured him. It didn’t really help.
“Right c’mon, enough of this – everyone finish your breakfast. We’ve got rocks to climb and a last day to seize,” Dan clapped his hands together. “The breakfast bar is finally closed.”
“Hey, but I didn’t get anything.” James folded his arms over his chest. His jacket rode up slightly and revealed a slither of his belly. Aleks reached up and poked it.
“It looks like you don’t need anything,” he joked. James tugged his jacket down and scowled at his boyfriend. He held it in place and stared down at his body. The jacket made him much bigger than James believed he was. He was too busy staring at his stomach to notice that Aleks had stood. His boyfriend kissed him gently on the cheek, coaxed his arms around his waist and squeezed.
“I’m kidding, you’re absolutely perfect,” Aleks said. James rolled his eyes.
“Soppy bastard,” James whispered. He squeezed Aleks a little bit tighter anyway.
“We’ll have to get you something along the way, if we don’t leave now we’ll be too late,” Dan said though his fingers twitched around his spatula.
“That’s all right, dad – I’m sure Eddie has some chocolate to spare,” James grinned down at his younger brother. Eddie groaned, looked to Dan who didn’t seem to protest, and pushed himself up off of his chair.
“I’ll go get it,” Eddie whined. “But you’re buying me replacements!” He called out. James shrugged – a chocolate bar wasn’t too expensive. He could get his dad to buy it for him instead. He grabbed his boyfriend’s hand and led him into the car, pulling Aleks into the back and laughing when he fell onto his lap. Aleks wriggled off and sat in his rightful seat though he didn’t let go of James’ hand. It took at least ten minutes for everyone else to pile in. James flinched as a chocolate bar hit him in the face, picking it up and frowning at it.
“I don’t like this one,” James held it up. Aleks snatched it from him, unwrapping it and taking a bite before Eddie could take it back. Another bar hit James in the face, this time one he enjoyed. James ripped it open, threw the wrapper to the ground and took a big bite.
---
James’ neck ached as he looked upwards. The wall looked about two storeys high, dotted with colourful little rocks for climbers to grab hold of. They were meant to look inviting. James thought they looked like Crayola had threw up over a torture device.
“I’m not climbing it,” he said. Dan nudged his shoulder and pointed to the right. There stood a much smaller wall. Children much younger than Seamus and Eddie were climbing up it with ease, getting to the top and celebrating before they whizzed back downwards. James shook his head, “I’m not climbing that one either.” James’ feet were staying firmly on the ground this time. He’d climbed once this week, he wasn’t going to climb again. He hadn’t even bothered putting the gear on, laughing at the others as they stood in their goofy hats and harnesses.
“I don’t know what you’re laughing at, you pussy.” Aleks flicked his boyfriend’s forehead. He shook his head when James stumbled back, clutching the side of his head and hissing. Eddie was bouncing from foot to foot where he stood, barely listening to the instructor’s safety tips. Seamus was simply staring upwards. He rang his hands together but when Eddie bumped into him he smiled. The second he was given the go-ahead, Eddie was racing up the wall. Seamus watched him go for a second before he launched himself at the wall too. He saw his brother climbing up beside them and Seamus couldn’t help but smile when Eddie cried out as Aleks passed him. Eddie’s tongue was peeking between his lips as he thought about where he should move to next, moving surprisingly calculated for the hyper boy Seamus knew him to be.
James watched Aleks intently. In fact, he watched a certain part of Aleks so intently that his father held his hands over his son’s eyes for a second and shook his head. James laughed, knocked Dan’s hand away, and pointedly looked at the floor instead. Aleks made it just short of the very top, letting out a loud cheer to make sure everybody knew it, then let himself whizz back down to the floor. Seamus clung tightly as his brother went past, scared that he’d slip and fall any second. He looked up to see Eddie not too far ahead of him, still slowly working out where he wanted to move to each time. He saw that Seamus was watching him and he made a point to stick out his tongue and wriggle it around. Seamus started to move as though someone had lit a fire underneath his boots. He shot up the wall, past Eddie and way past where Aleks had got to.
Eddie cried out as his friend went past, then clapped when he saw Seamus ring the bell that announced his victory. Eddie’s hands darted out to grab onto the wall when he started to fall backwards, but his fingers slipped and he went sailing down towards the ground instead. He landed on his feet, only just, and scowled at James when his brother started pointing and laughing at him. Eddie stormed over to him to give his brother a well-deserved punch but found that he could only go so far. James almost passed out from laughter as he watched his brother be unhooked by the instructor. Eddie thumped James’ arm when he could, yelling out when James retaliated. Dan stepped in between them before they could really come to blows though James looked at his younger brother in a way that promised they’d continue their fight later. They all looked up to watch Seamus descend. Except he didn’t.
Seamus’ fingers were frozen around the little multi-coloured rocks. His legs had become stuck in one position, poised to climb higher but with nowhere to go. Seamus glanced down just once but his eyes quickly shot upwards. He swallowed. He knew that all he had to do was kick back and let the wires take him down to the ground but it seemed so far, far, away. Seamus blinked back tears that threatened to spill over his eyelashes. His nails scraped against the rough plastic.
“Hey, Moose – you’re supposed to come down now!” Aleks called from somewhere down below. “Stop showing off, we get it – you’re the winner!” Seamus pressed closer to the wall, barely daring to breathe in case it pushed him backwards.
“Are you all right up there?” Someone, maybe the instructor, called out to him. Seamus hiccupped. His legs started to tremble.
Aleks watched his little brother’s leg shake and realised that Seamus wasn’t showing off at all. He untangled himself from his boyfriend’s embrace and rushed towards the wall. Aleks’ hands found the path for him as he kept his gaze upwards, kept his eyes on his little brother. Higher and higher until he could hear Seamus’ laboured breathing. Aleks’ foot slipped. He held tight onto the little rocks and took a second to regain his balance. Then he kept climbing. Aleks pulled himself up next to his brother. Seamus’ head barely turned, merely jerking in Aleks’ direction and then back again.
“Hey, it’s okay, it’s okay – we’re going to get down now,” Aleks said. He eased his hand between Seamus’ hand and the wall. It slid easily between them. He curled his fingers around Seamus’ and gently lowered it. Pain shot up Aleks’ arm as Seamus squeezed his hand tightly. “We’re going to have to push back. Can you do that?” Aleks rubbed his thumb against Seamus’ hand. His brother shook his head.
Aleks looked below him. He could see his dad pacing back and forth, every so often glancing upwards at his children and then looking back at the ground when he realised they weren’t down yet. James had his arm slung around Eddie has his brother pushed against him to come and help. Dan was stood beside the instructor, saying something to him that Aleks couldn’t hear. There were other people too, families and random climbers. They were all watching the ordeal.
“We can do it together, yeah? I promise I won’t let you fall.” Aleks tilted his head so that he could see Seamus’ face. It seemed his entire body throbbed when he saw the tear tracks down Seamus’ cheeks. “C’mon, Moose – on the count of three we’ll kick back and then in a minute or two we’ll be on the ground,” Aleks said. Seamus nodded.
Aleks counted and, like he’d said, on three he and Seamus kicked off from the wall. They descended smoothly, though Aleks was sure he’d broken at least one or two fingers. Seamus couldn’t wait for the instructor to help him unbuckle. He ripped his harness off and threw his hat to the side. Aleks waited patiently, rubbing his hand. Seamus’ squeezing had aggravated the cut he’d received at the clubhouse and he noticed now that blood was seeping through his bandages. The instructor looked alarmed as he helped Aleks free himself from the harness but Aleks shook his head and he didn’t say anything. Seamus frowned as Jordan wrapped his arm around his shoulders, peppering his hair with kisses and shielding him from most of the stranger’s unwanted stares. Eddie flittered uselessly around him, rubbing Seamus’ arm one second and trying to hug him the next.
James went straight to his boyfriend, lifting up his arm and raising his eyebrow as Aleks yanked it away. He breathed heavily through his nose.
“Shall we call it a day then?” Dan asked. When nobody answered him, Dan knew that everyone was thinking the same thing. He pat Seamus on the shoulder and smiled down at the young boy. Seamus had wiped most of his tears away and he’d stopped shaking since his feet were on the ground. “How about you pick where we go to lunch?” Dan suggested. Seamus’ eyes sparkled with the promise of food. He chewed upon one of his fingers as he thought about all the places they could go, all the different kinds of food he could eat at that moment. He smiled up at Dan when he’d chosen.
“Can we go eat at the diner?” Seamus swayed side to side. Dan nodded.
“Sure, if that’s what you want.” Dan pat Seamus’ shoulder again. “We’ll get whatever you want – and I’ll make sure your dad shells out for dessert too.” Dan winked.
Jordan grumbled beside them but he wasn’t about to deny Seamus anything. He took Seamus to the door while the others waited for Eddie to become unharnessed.
“We’re eating at the diner?” James pulled a face. His father’s face dared him to say otherwise and James let it go, “before we leave can we go to first aid for this dumbass?” James held up Aleks’ hand again. The bandage was pretty much all a dirty dark-brown colour now. Dan nodded. Eddie rushed past the three of them. He was out the door before Dan could blink. Aleks and James bickered all the way to the first aid office. Dan had to stifle a laugh when James insisted he was the one to bandage his boyfriend up, listing all of the reasons his boyfriend was an idiot with every wrap. Dan sighed. The day hadn’t gone as he’d expected and his shoulder slumped when he realised how little time they had left. Dan followed James and Aleks out towards the car and made a mental note to make the evening as fun as possible. He sighed again when he realised that meant they definitely wouldn’t get to play monopoly this trip. Ah well, Dan thought, there’s always next year.