I See You

Ronan Lynch prided himself on the fact that he could reduce someone with his stare, and that he could hide everything he felt from appearing in his features. It was something masterful, he felt, to have such control over himself that sometimes even he wondered what was going through his mind.

In the current moment, Ronan was performing his hiding illusion, because he was trying extremely hard, and feeling like he was failing, to hide the effect that Adam Parrish was having on him. Ronan clenched his draw to prevent his mouth falling open in a surprised 'o', and he widened his eyes just a little so they wouldn't looked hooded, and slouched his shoulders so that no surprise could be seen in him whatsoever. But inside. Inside, Ronan was dropping his mouth in a surprised 'o', and his eyes were hooded with desire, and his shoulders were tense with surprise and wanting. How dare Adam just lean against the side of his car with no fucking shirt on?

"Hey," Adam said, shielding his eyes from the sun, and looking up at Ronan where he stood, frozen, on the front step to Monmouth Manufacturing.

Hey? Ronan clenched his hand into a fist beside him, and tried not to let his gaze lower from Adam's face. "What are you doing to my car?"

Adam laughed, and it was one of his abrupt ones, the ones that Ronan liked best, that Ronan always wanted to elicit from him. "I'm not doing anything to your car, Lynch. I was just waiting for you."

With no shirt on? Ronan thought to himself, although he would not allow himself to comment on the lack of clothing on Adam's body. Because then that would mean he had noticed, and then Adam would know that he had noticed, and there'd just be a shit-storm to deal with and Ronan hated nothing more than shit-storms. So, instead, Ronan said nothing. His silence was his one faithful and unbreakable armour against everything Adam Parrish related.

"Aren't you going to ask why I'm waiting for you?" Adam asked, and a breeze swept through the area, and his dusty brown hair flipped into his eyes, and Ronan's hand twitched with the want to move it away.

"Nope," was Ronan's response.

Adam smiled, and Ronan thought he saw a little bit of himself in that smile, and it thrilled him. If he was having any effect on Adam, he wanted it to be one that made Adam smile like that. With bared teeth and a little hint of danger. "I want to go swimming."

Swimming. So that's where the lack of shirt came into the equation. Although surely he could have waited until they were actually swimming before he unleashed his body on the world, and more importantly, on Ronan.

'I don't do swimming' was on the tip of Ronan's tongue until he realised that the statement would incite Adam to leave, and Adam leaving would mean no more trying but failing to notice the lean muscles of Adam's chest. So instead, Ronan huffed and jiggled his keys in his hands as he opened the driver's door. Adam grinned as he slid into the passenger's seat, no doubt pleased with his coercion. Ronan sent a glare his way, trying to get back some of his power, but that only seemed to make Adam's smile grow even bigger, so Ronan turned to the road and revved the engine.

When they pulled up to the lake, Ronan parked the car and reached for the door handle but was stopped by Adam's voice.

"You don't hide things as well as you think you do, Lynch. Not from me."

Ronan just stared at Adam, hoping that he could shut him up and be done with it. But Adam's gaze was unwavering under his, and Ronan blew out a breath and looked out at the shining water before them. "What are you getting at?"

"I saw your face when you saw me at Monmouth."

Ronan shrugged, as if he had no idea what Adam meant. But inside, there was a thread of curiosity worming its way through him, whispering that he definitely had an idea what Adam meant and he hoped Adam was talking about it in the way he wanted, and not the way that involved a shit-storm.

"You tried to hide it, but I saw. I always see, Ronan."

Ronan move his gaze back to Adam and god he was so earnest looking that Ronan's heart stuttered a little in his chest. The traitor. "Get to the point, Adam."

Adam took a deep breath, and Ronan couldn't help but notice how his chest expanded with it, and he wondered how it would feel if his hands were on that expanding chest, and he was making Adam take thundering breaths. "I always see you seeing me, and I want you to know that I see it. I see you Ronan, and I see that you want me, and I just wanted to tell you that I want you, too."

A raised eyebrow was all Ronan gave in response, hoping it was condescending enough to hide the fact that what Adam had said had caused an all encompassing shit-storm inside him, and the only thing he wanted to do was throw Adam in the backseat of the car and do unspeakable things to him.

"There you are again, trying to hide it. But I know you, Lynch. I know you."

If you know me so well, Adam, you'll know that this was coming, Ronan thought to himself as he threw himself out of the car, strode to the passenger's door, opened it, grabbed Adam's arm to haul him out, and pressed him against the side of the car – just as he had been when Ronan saw him for the first time that day. Without giving Adam a second to consider or protest, Ronan pressed against him, and finally, finally, kissed him.

Adam tasted of sunlight and black coffee and something else that Ronan couldn't define that was simply Adam. Ronan could feel the planes of Adam's chest under his hands, and the bones of Adam's hips digging into his, and when Adam made a sound in the back of his throat, Ronan thought he would go wild with wanting.

He pulled back, only to see if Adam had anything to say in response to Ronan's actions, but all Adam said was "don't stop", and for once, Ronan listened.