All The Ways We Touch [BxB]

fifty-two - a view to remember pt. two

A/N: this chapter includes 18+ sexual content

They focused on eating and by the time they were done, Jamison had cleared through nearly three out of the four pancakes, more than either thought he'd finish, and Elliot had cleared through the four he'd taken. Among his worries about becoming too soft to early mornings and cold, he was concerned that he was beginning to gain weight now that he was eating more regularly to ensure that Jamison was eating enough. Still, it was worth it to see the way Jamison was filling in over his ribs, no longer so sickly-looking at certain angles.

Standing, Jamison took both of their plates and brought them to the garbage, surprised to see the pile of burnt pancakes at the bottom. As Elliot had kept that to himself, he said nothing and scrapped what remained of his pancakes on top of them and then set both plates in the small sink.

"I'll do the dishes, don't worry about it," Elliot said, getting up and putting the syrup back in the cabinet for the rental company to take care of after they left. "I'm sure you have better things to do than rinse half a bottle of syrup off of one plate."

Cracking a smile, Jamison rolled his eyes but nodded. Why fight Elliot on being helpful when it was clear that he wanted him to relax? "Well, I was think—"

"Oh!" Pulling his phone out of his pocket, Elliot brought up a screenshot he'd saved and showed it to Jamison. "Sorry to interrupt you but I meant to bring this up while we ate. We just got a little distracted."

Taking Elliot's phone, Jamison read through the image and nodded before handing it back to him. "You want to go on a hike?" It wasn't that he thought that Elliot was incapable of enjoying more time in nature, but with how frequently he kept yawning, he wasn't sure if it was the time for something that would be extra tiring. Though at least it'd get him outdoors, and while Elliot didn't love it quite like he did, it was a calming force from which Jamison knew they'd both benefit. "You're not too worn out?"

"Don't worry, I'm just sleepy, not really worn out." Slipping his phone back into his pocket, he looked at Jamison expectantly. "So? Do you?" Truthfully he'd read enough about the hike ahead of time to ensure that it wouldn't be too rugged for his sensibilities and he wouldn't have suggested it had he been too tired for it.

"I feel good about it if you do."

"Then let's go for it."

After they'd changed, put on sunscreen, and packed a backpack, Jamison followed Elliot out of the treehouse and began down to the car as he locked up. Knowing there'd be no service, Elliot had preemptively saved directions to the trailhead and had Jamison navigate on the drive.

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A little over an hour later he pulled over on the side of the road near a wooden sign that had "ANGEL TRAIL" and an arrow carved into it. The hike was well regarded as beautiful but it was so remote that the distance seemed to help deter many people from making the trek.

"So how'd you find out about this? The rental company?"

Yawning, Elliot turned his attention from the trail to Jamison and shook his head. "Well, they do include it in their info but I'd done a search of the area before I reached out to them about the treehouse. I wanted to be sure that you'd really get to enjoy nature if we went through so much effort to get here."

"Ah yeah, all the effort of flying in on a private plane," Jamison teased, nudging him playfully with his elbow.

Rolling his eyes, Elliot turned his attention back to the trail, his freehand reaching for Jamison's and locking their fingers together. There was no reason that they couldn't be close as they walked along the well-worn dirt path that was beginning to snake up the mountain. Soon they'd be steadily climbing it, walking up switchbacks to keep from making the trail too steep as they made their way to a vista that was supposed to have a so-called heavenly view.