~INTO YOU~

19. FIT TOGETHER

He tipped his head back and breathed in as much as he could...tasted his lips until his emotions were on puddles and his heart could not help but slow down. The beauty and tranquility were having their effect. Why couldn't all of life be this simple?

Had he fallen into some kind of trance while gazing at his gleaming eyes? Maybe.

Perhaps, the campfire lit a glow in both of them that night. Between the sardonic exchanges and philosophy, their bonds had become a kind of palpable ever glow.

These speculations passed through Rumi's consciousness offhandedly. Even when he continued to wonder how he could feel so calm and serene in the light of so many uncertainties.

Vinzer reveled in his total surrender, but only for a moment. He had already decided that he wanted much more from Rumi than one night of passion. It was time to raise the stakes of their game.

He began placing kisses lower, working his way past his chin and neck to his chest, biting on the nipple that pressed against the fabric of his clothes. Rumi shuddered and his face froze for a mere second in stunned surprise. In his eyes, there was no more anger. Only desire.

Rumi's eyes reflected that desire, so Vinzer kissed him again, but with much more gentleness this time.

"Not here..." Rumi gasped as Vinzer tentatively slipped a hand under his shirt, his thumb brushing against that pearl. "I don't want to make a pup here."

Vinzer chuckled in spite of himself. "I wouldn't take you in this place either." He told him, "I want you to know how much I appreciate you. I want you to believe it."

And Rumi did. By the time he had finally accepted him, he was utterly convinced that he had somehow breached the ordinary parameters of relationships as he had come to know them and discovered something truly different and exceptional.

"How do we get out of this place?" He asked when Vinzer finally let go and settled with their hands intertwined.

"I think I remember this path. Follow me."

With their racing heart calmed, they resumed hiking, but at a slow, more manageable pace. As they were nearing a high point in the mountain and veered closer to the steep edge, Rumi observed the views below. The foliages were thinning out now, perhaps because of the elevation, and this made the sight even more astounding. Clumps of trees gave way to fields of green, spotted here and there with patches of flowers.

Then, Rumi noticed the entire area clearly, another deep hole across them that quickly faded to darkness.

"What is this place?" He asked in a whisper.

Vinzer placed a hand on the small of his back. "One of the entrances to the deep."

He quickly turned his head to face him. "What if the answers we're looking for are right there?"

"No, Rumi."

"But that creature---"

"I'll give it to you if that is what you want. We are not going in there."

"Do you trust me?"

His gaze hypnotized Vinzer, a new sensation was rapidly creeping up from deep within him, mingling with the fear. "It's too dangerous, Rumi. No one has ever returned from the deep." When the other remained motionless, and his expression gave way to a throbbing heart, Vinzer quickly contemplated his predicament. He enveloped his hands with his and beseeched, "I'll do everything you want. Just this once, believe me. That place is dangerous. I won't risk losing you."

He wasn't accustomed to this kind of Vinzer so it was only natural that Rumi felt shy. He assented with a blush, still too embarrassed to admit just how he had liked it. "Let's get out of this place before I change my mind."