Kia adjusted his grip on the phone instead, the camera wobbling briefly before steadying as he stepped into the bathroom. The light there was warmer, softer. Almost honeyed. Steam was already creeping along the edges of the mirror as he turned the water on, the sound a low, steady rush.
Ryan's throat went dry.
The frame caught Kia from the collarbones down at first—bare skin, relaxed shoulders—then shifted again as Kia propped the phone somewhere higher. Not angled deliberately. Not posed. Just… placed. The ceiling filled most of the screen, a sliver of Kia's shoulder visible at the bottom, skin already starting to sheen with heat.
"You can hang up," Kia said lightly, as if reminding him of something mundane. "If you want."
Ryan laughed once, breathless and humorless. "You know I won't."
A pause. Then, softer—pleased but not smug.
"I know."
The water hissed louder as Kia stepped fully beneath it. Ryan couldn't see much now, and somehow that made it worse. The sound of water striking skin. Kia exhaling slowly, like he was finally letting the day go. Steam fogged the camera lens in pulses, blurring even that small glimpse of him until everything looked hazy, indistinct.
Ryan dragged a hand down his face. His body was wound tight, every nerve screaming for more—more sight, more permission, more of anything—but underneath it was something steadier. He was still here. Kia was still here. No pressure. No demand.
"Breathe," Kia said, almost absentmindedly, as if he could hear Ryan spiraling through the screen. "You're holding it again."
Ryan realized he was.
He sucked in a slow breath, then let it out. Another. His shoulders dropped a fraction.
"Good," Kia murmured.
Ryan closed his eyes. When he opened them again, the screen had fogged almost completely, the image reduced to light and shadow. Kia reached up at some point—just an arm, briefly visible—to wipe the lens with his thumb. Not enough to clear it. Just enough to remind Ryan that he could.
He didn't.
Minutes passed like that. Water. Steam. Breath. Presence.
Then Kia's voice came again, closer to the phone now. "I should get out before the water goes cold."
Ryan nodded automatically, then realized Kia couldn't see it. "Yeah," he said, hoarse. "Yeah, you should."
The screen tilted as Kia picked up the phone at last—but instead of turning the camera back on himself, he flipped it face-down. The picture went dark. The sound of water faded as the shower shut off.
Ryan stared at his own reflection in the black screen, chest rising fast.
Kia didn't rush to end the call.
"I'll text you when I'm done," he said, voice calm, grounded. "Don't go anywhere."
Ryan swallowed, something warm and dangerous settling deep in his chest.
"I won't," he said, slowly guiding his hands to his chest, imagining kia's face, how hot it is taking a shower, he slowly pinch his nipple and that made him moan unconsciously.
Okay bunny, I can see your being naughty, kia said across the phone as if he knows what was happening.
Shut up, Ryan reply, and that even came as a panting.
Yes bunny, let me hear you more, you know you're the only one that can shut me up, how about you come shut me up, I would mind that at all, kia answered, almost as a whisper this time
Don't fucking whisper like that again kia, at this point, Ryan hand is already on his belts, struggling to loose it and only God knows how much he wants to rip off the belt at this point