Room for Thought

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare's foot shifted as he moved to get better balance. His leg moved around Michael's, leaving him hovering further over him, Michael's bent leg between his own, though for all the space between them he didn't notice. Michael was technically beneath him now, but it was an entirely different position from that firm press of bodies on the grass. He half-knelt, half stood, pressing Michael back into the couch, their mouths melding in a battle of pleasure. It was comfortable, in a way, yet the growing tension was enough to drive him nearly insane.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael didn't notice where his leg was, all he was aware of was that now Dare was over him, and he was being pressed into the soft back of the couch. He enjoyed the feeling of Dare pressing against him, and his body tensed, the pleasure becoming more intense because of the change in position. His arm came up, his hand wrapping just over Dare's shoulder, and his other loosened slightly, sliding to the middle of his back.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare's body was tense with wanting more, the pleasure of the moment stealing his breath away, but speaking to instincts and needs he didn't know what to do with. He wanted more, but he wasn't ready. The kiss became more graphic, more expressive as he focused everything into it, his hands firming against Michael even as he refused to allow the rest of his body to move. He didn't want to stop, didn't want to give up a moment of this, but it was that, or break, and Dare knew which choice had to be made. He broke the kiss, brows knitting in near pain as he pulled deep, bracing breaths.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael was practically dizzy at the unexpected stop. While he had known that it wasn't going to go on forever, he had hoped it would go on a little while longer. His eyes shot open and he tried to catch his breath, looking up at Dare. After a second he met Dare's lips again for a gentle kiss as he let his heart try to slow. His arms relaxed and his hands moved to Dare's waist.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare took what Michael offered, the slow kiss to work them back from the brink of whatever insanity he, at least, had been approaching. The feel of Michael's hands, as strange as it might have felt at first, was soothing, and he let it ground him.

When he trusted himself again, Dare pulled back, his eyes still dazed as he sat heavily back beside Michael, their thighs brushing, then settling against one another. He crossed one ankle over the opposite knee, trying to ease his body's discomfort, since there wasn't much hiding its reaction. Dare leaned back into the couch, resting his hands on his thighs as his head relaxed against the cushion. "Wow," he breathed.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael stretched, arching slightly off the couch as he tried to rid himself of some of the tension in his muscles, then let out a sigh when he settled back down beside Dare, tucking one ankle underneath his other knee. He laughed lightly and looked over at Dare, letting one arm lay across his lap and the other went to the back of the couch, resting his head on his fist. "You could say that," he said, smiling.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare chuckled, his lips spreading into what was undeniably a grin. "I think I just did," he said, turning his head to look at Michael. His mossy green eyes glittered, everything that had just happened still coursing through his blood. He thought about it, his mind lingering on those last moments, and the look in Michael's eyes when he'd pulled away that said Michael hadn't been ready to stop yet. Dare knew that Michael wouldn't have wanted to go further though, so he told himself he'd done the right thing in stopping when he had.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael met Dare's eyes, missing the contact and motion of the kiss even while he was enjoying the time after. The look in Dare's eyes alone was enough to spread a warm feeling through his body, mixing with the lingering tingles and shivers from the remembered touches. "Can you imagine if that professor had walked in today?" he asked, his eyes laughing. The last time they had been in the Room of Requirement a professor had walked in just at the right time, there was always the chance it could have happened again.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare's grin grew mischievously crooked. "I don't think I'd have noticed," he confessed. When he'd finally pulled away, he'd been a little surprised at the position he'd been in. He couldn't exactly remember having gotten there. What he remembered was how incredibly good it had felt, and how desperately he'd wanted something more, even if he couldn't put his finger on what, exactly, that was.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael's eyes dropped to that crooked grin he had grown so very attached to and he nodded. "Me neither," he admitted, but he could only imagine the look on the woman's, on anyone's face if they had walked in on them. He could barely remember what kind of position they had been in at the end, he could only remember that he had been extremely comfortable, even with the tension that had been in his body.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare saw the path of Michael's gaze and leaned forward, pressing their lips together in a kiss that was as tempting as it was light. He told himself that it was because everything was so new, but something told him that he knew better. He and Michael had just clicked. As Dare pulled back, as he leaned back against the couch and looked at Michael, absorbing every nuance of his face, he wondered at how close he'd gotten to losing control, and the strange fact that he, not Michael, had ended things this time. Where did that leave them?

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael smiled at Dare, he hadn't been fishing for a kiss by looking at Dare's mouth, but he certainly wasn't going to complain because he got one. He wasn't thinking too hard on why or how things had happened, had become so comfortable between them, it was still too different, it would get too uncomfortable if he tried to analyze. So he just accepted it as he watched Dare, his hand falling from his head to absently run his fingers through the multi-colored hair.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare was perfectly content to sit with Michael, to feel the sweep of fingers in his hair and the calming of his blood. He went over the day's events; classes, drawing Emilian, meeting with Adara, meeting with Silver, relaxing here with Michael. He began to wonder what time it was, after such a long day, and a clock obligingly materialized on the wall in his view. His brows rose.

"Crap, curfew!" It had been near dusk when they'd left Silver, and though the room showed no passage of time, no difference in light, it was now just past curfew. If they were lucky, they could probably slip back to their respective common rooms unnoticed. Dare looked back at Michael, not wanting to go, but reminding himself it was just temporary. "You'll be at the lake tomorrow?" he asked.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael's eyes gleamed in amusement at Dare's words, he had never lived by the rules as much as he had with Dare. "Yeah, I'll be there," he said, pulling his hand away and leaning up from the back of the couch. He agreed before he even remembered why they were going. It took him a minute, but then he remembered that he had agreed to go to Dare's session with Adara the next day. He decided he'd bring his own book if they were going to be by the lake.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare leaned in for another kiss before pushing to his feet. His eye caught on the silver quill, lying forgotten on the floor in front of the couch, and he bent, picked it up, and tucked it back into his pocket before retrieving his sketchbook. He smiled as he recalled the last thing he'd drawn, that twisting design that worked its way up Michael's arm. His eyes glittered at the memory. "I'm going to sleep like a baby," he said. The day had been exhausting, but now he was relaxed, back to himself again.