birthday boy

[thedreamthief]

It's a quiet night, all things considered. Ronan wouldn't even call it a fucking party so much as more or less a typical night at Hywel, albeit one where they're all miraculously there at the same time. Blue's even stayed, grinning along with Noah as they brought in the birthday pie -- Noah had insisted on a cake but apparently Blue has some friend who makes a mean pecan pie -- and then curling herself up on the couch next to Adam.

They'd turned on the TV but hand't really watching much of it, spending most of the time talking as Ronan nursed a beer or two and Adam tried not to acknowledge the reason behind the whole evening.

Not that they really let him forget it. Especially not Noah.

It's well past midnight when Adam starts to drift. The TV's still on and Noah and Blue are in a heated discussion about the evolution of alternative rock when Ronan reaches over to curl his hand lightly around Adam's wrist.

"Alright, losers, me and birthday boy are heading to bed," he says, the arch of his eyebrow brooking no argument.

Noah looks between the two of them, his grin widening and Blue only rolls her eyes, but neither of them try to stop him. Ronan ignores any further comment from both of them, tipping his head back to finish off his beer before setting the empty bottle on the table and dragging Adam to his feet.

"No argument from you either," he adds, his voice low and for Adam only as he steers him toward the bedroom.

Comments

[incognoscibilis]

For Ronan and those little kisses, Adam allows himself to be nudged away from sleep. He leans in close to Ronan, letting himself be cradled and loved.

"I did," he says. He doesn't need to admit how afraid he'd been that it would end up being some kind of fancy to-do with too many expensive gifts and an excess of treats. Whether or not he deserves it would have been beside the point of Adam's discomfort of being gifted things. No, this party had been comfortably modest. Comfortably them.

"I'm glad you guys did. I haven't really celebrated my birthday before."

[thedreamthief]

It isn't really news, of course. Not given what Ronan knows of Adam's parents.

"Well, it's about fucking time then," he says, brushing a kiss just below Adam's ear, lingering for just a moment. He nudges his nose to the skin there, breathes in deep, indulging before he pulls back to give Adam's knee a light slap.

"Come on, in you go," he says, leaning to pull the sheets back so Adam can crawl under. "Not that I'm about to let you sleep, but there might be a few more presents on the horizon."

[incognoscibilis]

Adam snorts but rolls under the sheets, tucking himself in and trying to give Ronan his best cynical look. "A good night's sleep would be a great present, Ronan," he says, feigning sleepiness even as they both know he's now wide awake and curious.

"I hope you didn't get anything stupid." It's a good codeword for expensive, which he still can't help but associate with strings attached, with a very real fear that something given to him can be used against him or simply just taken away.

[thedreamthief]

Ronan slips in after him, letting the sheet lie across his hips as he shifts the pillow under his head, grinning at Adam. He hasn't turned the light off just yet, giving himself a perfect view of Adam's strong shoulders and jaw, every detail of his face on beautiful display.

"Better than a blowjob?" he asks, eyebrow arched, lips curled in a mischevious smile. It's not something they joke about often; it feels almost vulgar, in fact. Thrilling.

Reaching out, he brushes the back of his finger along Adam's chest. "I do have one thing, though. And it's not stupid." Because stupid to Adam means expensive, but there is no value on the things Ronan can pull from his dreams. Not if he doesn't want there to be.

[incognoscibilis]

"Okay maybe not better."

Adam laughs and catches Ronan's hand, lifting it to his mouth so he can kiss the back of that finger. He purses his lips over a knuckle and lingers there, smiling at him. He knows what Ronan means and Adam disagrees, because what Ronan can do and what he can create is nothing short of magic, real and beautiful. What Ronan can create is immaculately beautiful to him, even when it's terrifying.

"You've given me a lot already," he says and means more than just the party or the cake. All of it. All of this.

[thedreamthief]

Adam's fingers curl over his own, catching and holding, and Ronan squeezes back as well as he can, warmth flooding through him at the touch of Adam's lips against his skin. It's a simple thing. Innocent. And yet Ronan's blood thrums warmer and he shifts beneath the covers to hook his ankle just over Adam's and sliding closer.

"Yeah, a lot of fucking headaches," he says, dodging the heavy tone in Adam's voice though his own stays soft and he leans in to brush a bare kiss to Adam's lips. "I mean something real, though. Something you can use."

[incognoscibilis]

He laughs again and leans forward, resting his forehead against Ronan's. Sometimes it's just so damn easy to love him, even when they're tired, fragile things. Adam closes his eyes and melts a little into the kiss, letting the quiet surround them. For a minute, they just are in all their exquisite possibility.

"What did you dream up, you magical thing."

[thedreamthief]

It's meant to be a soft kiss, nearly innocent in its intent. But Adam's eyes close and he presses in and Ronan lets out a breath to deepen it. There's nothing but the quiet sounds of lips on lips and soft breathing before they both pull away, Adam's lashes brushing his cheeks in a slow blink.

Ronan may be able to dream incredible, impossible things, but there will never be anything as miraculous as Adam Parrish.

His lips quirk then, a flash of a pleased smile before he pulls further away, rolling over onto his other side to reach into Adam's bedside table. He bypasses their shared bottle of lube and the box of condoms to instead pull out a long, slim box tied up with a blue bow. Rolling back to face Adam, he offers with a small, hopeful smile.

[incognoscibilis]

There's something so boyish, so earnest about Ronan in that moment. Adam thinks that that might as well be his birthday gift all on its own: Ronan, unguarded, without his anger as his armor. He doesn't get to enjoy that every day because they're both still so careful with themselves.

But tonight is special.

Adam takes the box almost reverently, no idea what's in it. It's small and slim, like it might contain a watch or a pen, but with Ronan there's no knowing.

"Does it matter how I open it?"

[thedreamthief]

Still grinning a little, Ronan shakes his head.

There's a ball of nerves winding tighter in his belly. This is far from the first give Ronan's given Adam, far from the first dream thing. Adam hasn't rejected a single one of them, but Ronan thinks he might someday. Careful as Ronan tries to be, he might.

This, he thinks, is at least something Adam won't be able to get anywhere else. Something he can use. Hopefully for years, through all of his schooling and after. An industructable ball point pen that takes perfect notes. Adam will still need to put in the effort as it won't work without being held and it isn't a dictaphone or whatever. It takes notes, it doesn't transcribe.

"It doesn't look like much," he admits, pushing up onto his elbow to watch. "Designed that way, though. Don't want any fuckhole stealing it."

[incognoscibilis]

Adam smiles and fumbles for a notebook. The closest thing he finds is a nearly depleted pad of sticky notes the size of a matchbook, but it's enough to try it out. The pen creates a kinder version of his cramped, hurried handwriting, making a quick and sensible paraphrase of what he's hearing.

"It's amazing," he says, meaning it. It's a creation of Ronan's but it's made for Adam in its simplicity, its practicality, and its understated elegance. He loves it.

"I love it." It seems important to say. Adam turns back onto his side and puts the pen carefully on the night table. "I love you." He loves saying it, reveling in the fact that he's not too broken to love.

[thedreamthief]

There's no denying the rush of warmth under his skin as Adam's face lights up. He tries it out and Ronan isn't surprised to see it working just as it had in his dream. After all, he's already tested it. There's a delight in Adam's face, though. He'll appreciate it better than anyone else could and that's the point.

Ronan dreamt it just for him.

Adam sets the pen aside for the moment and then rolls over to face Ronan, his expression full of wonder, making Ronan feel powerful. Like somethimg more than a monsterous god. Something good.

It's not the first time Adam's said those three words, but they're not ones spoken often and even now, they make Ronan's heart stutter. He reaches to curl a hand over Adam's side, pulling him in closer, legs tangled. "I love you," he echoes, because it's true. Because he can say it now. Openly. Freely. Without worry. "Happy birthday," he adds, leaning in enough to nudge his nose against Adam's before leaning in for a kiss. His lips quirk against Adam's as he says, "Blowjob's still on offer."

[incognoscibilis]

Before Gansey, before Cabeswater, Adam had taught himself to believe that miracles were made for other people. They did not visit dusty boys in hopeless places. Then he'd met the Raven boys. He'd met Ronan and he'd found miracles.

This is a miracle too. Something special, something significant. Adam could drown in it and be glad he had.

"I don't have to tug a bow off that too, do I?" he asks. He smirks and kisses Ronan again before he can fire off some reply. It's his privilege as birthday boy, he figures.

[thedreamthief]

"Well, you don't have--" he starts before Adam's mouth is on his, silencing the rest.

His hand tightens briefly on Adam's side as Ronan sinks into the kiss. He lets Adam lead it for a moment or two, not rushing ahead any even as he slides his hand down to Adam's hip, thumb hooking in the waistband of his boxers. Today marks the first anyone's really celebrated Adam's birthday and Ronan feels reluctant to let it go so quickly despite what the clock says.

[incognoscibilis]

Adam grins, knowing that he's caught Ronan before he can get away with saying something crude. As if what they're doing doesn't invite it, but they both enjoy being a little difficult.

"What're we doing tonight then?" He doesn't know if Ronan actually has something in mind beyond the blowjob he's promised. A tiny part of Adam thrills at the idea of Ronan having plans, at maybe taking a little of the control.

[thedreamthief]

Eyelids heavy, Ronan chases after Adam's mouth a bit when he pulls back before he manages a grin. He presses in quick, before Adam can lean away, to steal one last kiss as he slips his fingers fully beneath Adam's waistband, feeling over his hip and then inward, following the curve of muscle and bone before easily curling his fingers around Adam's hardening length.

"Depends," he remarks, bumping his nose playfully against Adam's. "Had a few ideas, but you're the birthday boy so you get final say. Blowjob's a given," he continues, his grip on Adam loose as he starts to stroke him, "but it's your call as far as when. Tonight or tomorrow morning, whatever.

"I was thinking I could ride you," he adds, almost conversationally, masking the thrill that rockets through him at just the suggestion. "Or you could ride me if you'd rather."

[incognoscibilis]

There's a little shiver that he can feel throughout his skin as Ronan whispers through his suggestions. It makes Adam feel a little bad, distantly, that he hasn't been able to stop thinking about the last time in Cabeswater when Ronan had gone almost to the edge of rough with him.

"Seems you're just into riding. Maybe I should have dropped you off at the stables," Adam says, reaching up to stroke Ronan's cheek.

Ronan tries to hide the way the thought excites him but Adam can feel Ronan's real opinion against his thigh.

[thedreamthief]

"Kinky," Ronan remarks with a faint grin, reveling in the fact that he gets to talk like this at all with Adam, that he gets to touch Adam.

He slips his hand lower, fingers grazing the swell of Adam's balls. "We don't have to do any of that. Mostly, I just really want to make you fucking come." The words still seem crude, almost vulgar, but that in itself is exciting. He's always been careful with Adam, not because he feels he has to be but because he needs to be. Because Ronan is made of thorns and razors and the last person he wants to cut is Adam Parrish.

After their afternoon in Cabeswater, Ronan's starting to wonder if he should start being a little less careful.

[incognoscibilis]

"Oh, we're very kinky," Adam says, raising a brow at Ronan. He doesn't actually know what that even entails. When he envisions it, it's all whips and leather collars and a very scary woman in a corset yelling at him. Not his thing.

But now, he's curious.

"What exactly have you been thinking about all day?" There's genuine curiosity, mixed with fear, mixed with desire.

[thedreamthief]

"You," Ronan replies because that's both obvious and innocent enough. He moves his hand so that he's only cradling Adam now in the palm of his hand, enjoying the weight of him, but not pushing it any further.

Any further than that and it's more complicated. He hasn't been thinking about it all day, not every second.

But there's something in the way Adam's looking at him now, eyes dark and focused, and Ronan pulls in a breath. "You in my lap," he clarifies. "Facing me. Legs around my waist and me inside you." He's nervous, he realizes, and he makes himself quiet, blood warm with want and anxiety all wrapped tight. They don't talk like this. They never really have. And, even now, he isn't sure how Adam will react to knowing all the filthy things in Ronan's mind.

[incognoscibilis]

"Yeah?" Adam kisses him then, hooks a leg around Ronan, because even knowing one of Ronan's fantasies feels good in a thousand ways all at once. Obviously, Ronan thinks about him, just as much as Adam thinks about Ronan, but it's always nice to know what exactly.

"I trust you," he says. There's so much power in those words too and he means it. "When we were in Cabeswater last time, I..." How does he say it exactly? That he liked Ronan being in control, that little taste of roughness.

How does he explain that he trusts Ronan to use that strength on him? That he wants Ronan to take him out of his own head with the illusion that he's not in control? Adam barely knows how to explain it to himself.

"You looked hot," he says, laughing softly. That's barely it at all but it's true.

[thedreamthief]

The kiss comes as a surprise somehow, Ronan's breath catching as he slides his hand to Adam's hip, holding on tight. It's always this that gets him going faster than anything -- Adam's kisses. Every single time.

And there's something in this one in particular, a communication Ronan can only hope to understand.

His lips curl in a smile as they part, gaze dropping to Adam's wet lips briefly. "Fuck you, are you saying I'm not always hot?" he says, voice nothing but fond. He leans in then, fingers grazing the dip of Adam's spine as he brushes their noses together. "Full disclosure," he says then, ignoring the tendril of nerves under his skin, "I really wanted to fuck you against a tree."

[incognoscibilis]

Adam laughs again and then turns to lie on his back, inviting Ronan to crawl over him, to rest his weight or to press it to his advantage. "I would have let you fuck me against a tree if we'd had the lube and condoms," he admitted. At the time, Adam had been worried about being seen but the more time he's spent away from that forest, the less he's worried.

"You pushed," he says. "You pushed me up against the tree when I tried to go down and–shit." Adam is somewhere between embarrassed and turned on at the memory, a telling reaction. "I don't know why exactly but I really liked it."

[thedreamthief]

Adam's face breaks in a laugh, his cheeks flushing just barely enough to be noticeable at all and Ronan drinks it in. The stretch of Adam's body against the sheets his wholly inviting, head turned and lips curled in a grin. Ronan matches it as he shifts too, easily swinging a leg over Adam's hips and holding himself over him, staring down.

"You liked it when I held you in place," he says, trying to make sure he understands.

As though to test it, he cocks his head and slides a hand down to Adam's wrist, drawing his arm up and gently pressing it to the mattress. Not hard enough that Adam couldn't slip it free if he wanted, but the implication's clear.

[incognoscibilis]

It should scare him but Adam can see it in Ronan's face and feel it in the lightness of his grip. It's different from all the other times in his life where he's been restrained, when he hasn't had control, because this is little more than a game. Adam wants to give up control because he trusts Ronan and because he knows that the second Adam wants his control back, Ronan will give it.

That thought mixes with the feel of Ronan's skin on his own, a hand rough on his wrist. Adam's approval is obvious in the flush of his cheeks, the interest in his boxers.

"I did. I do," he says, a little confused at his own revelation.