Eli returned to the cabin in silence, his steps slow, his heart still echoing with the memory of moonlight and fur and golden eyes. The door creaked softly as he pushed it open.
Inside, the room was dim. Kael snored lightly from the top bunk, one arm dangling over the edge. Eli moved to his bed, peeled off his jacket, and sat down — unsure if sleep would ever come.
Then the door opened again.
Riven stepped in, human once more. His shirt was rumpled, his hair damp with sweat and dew. He didn't speak. Just crossed the room in three quiet strides and sat beside Eli, close enough that their thighs touched.
Without a word, he lay down beside him.
Eli turned, startled. "Riven—"
Riven's arm slid around his waist, pulling him gently into the curve of his body. His breath was warm against Eli's neck.
"Are you okay?" Eli whispered.
Riven didn't answer right away. His fingers brushed Eli's wrist, checking for scrapes, lingering like he needed to feel Eli's pulse to believe he was still here.
"You're not hurt?" Riven asked, voice low, rough.
"No," Eli said. "You protected me."
Riven's grip tightened. "I couldn't let anything happen to you."
Eli turned in his arms, their faces inches apart. The air between them felt charged — like static before a storm. Riven's gaze searched his, slow and deliberate, and Eli felt something inside him unravel.
"I'm not afraid of you," Eli said softly.
Riven's breath hitched. "You should be."
"I'm not."
Their foreheads touched. Eli closed his eyes, letting the warmth of Riven's body seep into his own. It felt like surrender. Like safety.
They fell asleep like that — tangled, quiet, breathing in sync.
Morning
Kael woke first.
He blinked down from the top bunk, eyes narrowing at the sight below — Eli curled against Riven's chest, Riven's arm still draped possessively around him.
Kael's jaw tightened.
So that's how it was now.
He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and dropped down with a thud, loud enough to make Eli stir.
"Morning, lovebirds," Kael said, voice too bright.
Eli sat up, cheeks flushed. Riven didn't move, just watched Kael with unreadable eyes.
Kael smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Guess I'll have to step up my game."
Daytime Activities
The day unfolded with a flurry of outdoor activities — kayaking across the lake, hiking through cedar trails, and a team-building scavenger hunt that had Kael glued to Eli's side, cracking jokes and offering his hand at every turn.
Riven watched. Quiet. Unamused.
When the teachers announced a campfire-building challenge, Eli volunteered to help gather wood. Riven joined him without asking.
They wandered deeper into the forest, the trees growing thicker, the light dimmer. The air smelled of moss and pine, and the silence between them was heavy with everything unsaid.
They found a small, abandoned hut — half-collapsed, tucked between two leaning trees.
Inside, the air was cool and still. Dust motes floated in the shafts of light that pierced the roof.
Riven turned to Eli, eyes dark.
"You shouldn't have come alone last night," he said.
"I wasn't alone," Eli replied. "You were there."
Riven stepped closer. "I'll always find you," he said, voice low, like a promise whispered into the wind.
Eli's breath caught. The space between them vanished.
Riven's hand lifted, fingers brushing Eli's jaw with a kind of reverence — not claiming, but asking. Eli leaned into the touch, heart thudding so loudly he was sure Riven could hear it.
"You're shaking," Riven murmured.
"I'm not scared," Eli said. "Just… overwhelmed."
Riven's thumb traced the curve of Eli's cheekbone, then paused at the corner of his mouth. "Me too."
Their lips met — tentative, searching. A breath shared. Then again, deeper. The kiss unfolded like a secret, slow and aching, until Eli's fingers curled into Riven's shirt, pulling him closer.
Riven pressed Eli gently against the wooden wall, his body warm and solid, shielding him from everything but the moment. Eli's hands roamed — over Riven's shoulders, down his spine — memorizing the shape of him, the tension beneath the calm.
Riven's mouth moved to Eli's throat, brushing the skin with soft, open kisses. Eli gasped, his head tipping back, exposing more. The air between them grew heavy, humid with breath and longing.
"Is this okay?" Riven whispered, lips against Eli's collarbone.
Eli nodded, eyes fluttering shut. "Don't stop."
Riven's hands slid beneath Eli's jacket, fingertips grazing bare skin. Eli shivered, not from cold, but from the way Riven touched him — like he was something fragile and precious and wanted.
They didn't speak.
They didn't need to.
In that hidden place, beneath the pines and the weight of everything unspoken, they explored each other slowly — hands tracing ribs, lips brushing knuckles, breath mingling in the hush of the forest.
Eli felt like he was dissolving — not losing himself, but becoming something new. Every touch was a question. Every sigh, an answer.
Riven's fingers moved with reverence, sliding along Eli's waist, his back, the curve of his neck. Eli's shirt was half-unbuttoned, his skin flushed and warm, and when Riven kissed the hollow of his throat, Eli made a sound he didn't recognize — soft, desperate, real.
"I've never…" Eli began, voice trembling.
"I know," Riven said, forehead resting against Eli's. "Me neither."
Their mouths met again, slower this time, deeper. Riven kissed like he was memorizing Eli's taste, like he was afraid this moment would vanish if he didn't hold it tight enough.
Eli's hands tangled in Riven's hair, pulling him closer, anchoring them both. The wooden wall behind him was rough against his spine, but he didn't care. All he could feel was Riven — the heat of him, the weight, the way his body fit against Eli's like it had always belonged there.
They didn't go too far.
But they went far enough to know.
That this was real.
That this was theirs.
That something had shifted — not just between them, but inside them.
When they finally pulled apart, breathless and trembling, Riven rested his forehead against Eli's shoulder, his arms wrapped tight around him.
"I don't know how to be careful with you," he whispered.
Eli closed his eyes. "Then don't be careful. Just be here."
Outside, the wind stirred the trees.
Inside, two boys burned.