Outed! (Michael/Dare)

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael looked up at Dare's face, a warm feeling spreading through him. Dare always seemed to make him feel good, it was amazing how easily Dare's words, or even just one of those glances, could make him feel so good. "Are you happy now?" he asked, glancing down at his hands, one on his knee and the other still resting on Dare's, before looking back up into Dare's face.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare's eyes glittered at the question. "Very," he answered, setting aside the bottle. One of Dare's hands slipped over each of Michael's, careful not to touch the quick-dry polish before its time was up. Then he leaned over their legs to press his lips to Michael's. It was a slow kiss that he initiated, but it was brimming with joy, rich with love. Your nails can wait, he told himself. Right now, I want a kiss.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael focused on the kiss, though the feel of Dare's hands on his tried its best to distract him from it. The emotions in the kiss were so powerful that it easily left him breathless. It was just another instance of how easy everything was between them, how well they clicked. How had he ever been happy with the others he had been with? Since he knew what it was like to be with Dare, he didn't know how he had survived without the intensity and the passion.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare inhaled deeply through his nose as the intensity of the kiss grew, everything he could feel from Michael, the sensations and returned emotions, making him lightheaded. His hands shifted against Michael's a moment, then smoothed up, pushing his sleeves up with no intent other than feeling whatever he could of Michael's arms. Then the sleeves reached their limit and Dare's hands smoothed over them, around his upper arms to Michael's shoulders, where Dare pulled lightly, drawing Michael closer to him. He spared no thought for the people and problems which waited outside the haven of the Room of Requirement. There was only him and Michael in the world right now, only the connection and pleasure that came so easy when they were together.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael brought his hand up from his knee and moved it to Dare's side as his other spread over Dare's knee. He shifted towards Dare, not giving a thought to resisting the pull of his hands. It was easy to forget the Prophet, or perhaps Michael had just come to terms with the knowledge that everyone knew and was, if not okay with it, at least able to cope and still enjoy being with Dare without worrying what someone else would think or say about it. His hand spread out over Dare's side before moving to his back, taking in what he couldn't the day before.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare's body burned, and it had nothing to do with his fading sunburn. The pressure of Michael's hands against him woke every drop of blood in his body, until he was leaning further to bring his chest against Michael's. One of Dare's hands dropped from Michael's shoulder as the other curved around the back of his neck. His hand smoothed over the top of Michael's, then settled, curved lightly around it, and, though his heart stopped in waiting for rejection, guided Michael's hand around his leg and up the outside of his thigh.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael let his hand be led up Dare's leg, part of his hazy mind splitting away to examine the new territory. He wasn't used to it, but it wasn't more than he was ready for, so he didn't pull away or tense. His other hand moved slowly over Dare's back, taking in what he had wanted to the day before. The tension he was so used to was becoming worse in his body, though he purposefully ignored it.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare's body wanted to rush ahead, to press Michael back against the couch and have his way with him, and Dare's mind struggled against it. He loved the feel of Michael's hand against his leg, and wanted more, but didn't want to risk losing what they had right at that moment. Dare reined himself in, working to keep his mind from fogging completely over, and let his hand rest lightly against Michael's, letting him explore as he wanted, but reassuring Michael that he'd stop them if he went too far. He didn't think Michael would go too far, didn't think he could at that moment, but he didn't want Michael to worry. He wanted Michael to touch him, to explore.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael didn't know what he wanted to do next, other than that he wasn't content to just stay immobile. Dare's hand on his was comfortably intimate in a way that let him erase any possible discomfort from the other contact he had. He let his hand venture a little farther but stopped then, letting it rest where it was. Then he remembered his other hand again, and Michael let it come down to dip under Dare's shirt and spread against his lower back.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

The direct contact was a relief, and part of the near-overwhelming tension faded, the electricity flowing from his skin to Michael's. It wasn't quite enough, though, and Dare found himself shifting further, pressing Michael's back against the back of the couch, rising up onto one knee in the process. The already intense kiss deepened somehow, or maybe it was just Dare taking control of it, he couldn't tell. His hand, resting on Michael's, moved slightly then, lightly encouraging Michael's to move farther, up and around to his hip.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael paused, then went along with Dare's encouragement, his other hand moving farther up Dare's shirt to somehow counteract any negative feelings that he knew were coming. But they never did, the comfort never left, neither did the curiosity that pushed him to touch, even if he still wasn't willing to go as far as they had the last time they had been in the room.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare's mind wasn't on last time, and he kept it as far from wanting a repeat as he could manage. He tried to stretch this time out instead, hoping to extend things, or maybe, in his subconscious mind, determining his limits. He knew what Michael definitely liked, knew what was definitely too much, but there was a large gray area in between. Dare knew what he wanted, but he also knew that Michael liked guidance, so he guided Michael's hand lightly around his hip, slowly, carefully, waiting for Michael to freeze or go on.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael waited for the discomfort, the alarm to go off in his mind saying that his time was up. And kept waiting. It didn't come, and so he let Dare guide his hand. He wasn't brave enough to go ahead on his own so he trusted Dare to lead. His other hand slid up, Dare's shirt pulling up with it, and across Dare's shoulders.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

It was so unbelievably intense, and yet it was such a small thing. Dare curved Michael's hand against the back of his jeans, inhaling deeply at the sensation. He pressed lightly, encouraging again, then released Michael's hand and broke the kiss just long enough to straighten, to tug his shirt off over his head and toss it aside. His collarbone, his shoulders nose and a strip of his cheeks beneath his eyes were lightly dusted with freckles just dark enough to be seen if one was very close, thanks to the sun he'd gotten. He'd forgotten them though, his mind glazed over as his lips sought Michael's again.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

The sun Dare had gotten hadn't been as obvious until the shirt was gone and Michael saw how it faded down his torso. His lips curved at the sight in the few moments he had before the kiss started again. Then he pulled Dare closer to him, feeling free, happy with the line, however small it was, that he had crossed and how much closer he felt to Dare because of it.