The Bolt from the Blue (Working Title)

Chapter 4- The Hill

In the street below it was dark, and the orange glow of the streetlights made everything look strangely artificial. Outside the door, John turned to Sam, "So, which way?"

"Up; you get a nice view of the city from the top of the hill."

They started walking. John wasn't sure whether or not to link arms with the younger man- he was pretty sure his romantic intentions were obvious, but then he didn't want to make assumptions. This made him incredibly self-conscious about what to do with his arms and he ended up swinging them exaggeratedly like a small child.

Sam had climbed the hill a lot on his own; he liked to walk it of an evening and then look out at the city, glowing with streetlamps and the lights in people's houses- it made him feel deep, even if what he was thinking about wasn't particularly weighty. Now that he had company, he felt that he had to add something very philosophical to match the surroundings; "so, your friend is a bit...strange."

John laughed. "To be fair, I dropped in on her unexpectedly. I think she was planning on being alone this evening."

"Yeah, but she seemed actually offended at the idea of you walking."

"I don't know what that was about; maybe she thinks I teleport too much."

"You seem to be taking the hill okay."

"Well, I'm dying on the inside." John grinned, but there was a hint of truth in his statement- he had been able to teleport since he was fifteen, and had never seen the appeal in walking for pleasure. He worked out a lot- went to the gym at least four times a week, on top of his time in the field, but he had never seen the point in taking the slower route to anywhere. He considered offering to create a portal to the top of the hill, but he got the impression that the walking was somehow the point of the activity.

"So, what's your power?"

Sam stopped in the middle of the street, between the haloes of two streetlamps, his face half-hidden in shadow, "That's a bit of a personal question, isn't it?"

"Is it?" John had gone his entire life asking people this on their first or second meeting. He considered a point of courtesy and a good ice-breaker.

Sam paused for just a moment more in the strange limbo between the lights where John had no clue what he was thinking. But then he stepped forward, with a smile on his face, but then he tilted his head to side, raised his shoulders slightly, and furrowed his brow slightly, his smile becoming somewhat sad and apologetic. "I'm a telepath."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

Sam shrugged- he'd been through this routine a hundred times before. "No, it's cool- I mean, someone has to be."

"Still, that sucks."

"Well, in extremely rare cases, I get to see what some idiot is thinking, so, y'know, there's that."

"What am I thinking, right now?" John stepped closer, so the steam from their breaths intermingled.

"You're wearing a blocker, remember? There's no way for me to know." Sam looked him right in the eyes, and felt slightly mesmerised by the warmth he saw there.

"I could take it off." John suggested.

"It's sewn into your shirt."

"I could take my shirt off."

Sam laughed and put a hand against John's incredibly hard chest. "Now, there's a thought."

John looked deep into Sam's face, trying to guess if he was serious. Sam smiled and raised his eyebrows suggestively. John bit his lower lip, "It's really cold out here."