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“What do you expect near such a large lake?” Jesse chuckled.

“All that water seeps down from mountain springs and melted snow and the runoffs of the wild spring rains. It gathers into all these rivers as it cuts its way down, and pools into more little lakes and ponds like this in deeper pockets along the way.” He had to tease Jamie a bit with it.

“It’s kinda funny that you ooh and ahh over literally every single one. ”

Jamie laughed it off—before noticing another even smaller pond farther off in the fields, and pulling Jesse onwards to get a better look.

And then, finally, as the sun began to slowly set and cast deep orange shadows over the pines, the two walked back to the motel, hand in hand.

It had been such a perfect day.

Though… as much as Jesse loved these moments—the romance, the companionship, the time spent together just being together —he also had to admit he was looking forward to the night just a bit more.

Alright, maybe more than ‘just a bit.’

Not that he’d been left dry and thirsty, not by any means.

He still didn’t know if he should call it a ‘honeymoon phase’ or what, but ever since Jamie had decided they could have sex again…

well, they kind of just never stopped. And at the risk of sounding cliché, Jesse had never been with anyone else who made him feel the way Jamie did.

It was as if they were meant for each other.

Jamie’s dancer-trained body was pure sin, all lean muscle and fluid movement, his flexibility allowing for things that felt almost too good to be real.

And Jamie had grown a lot bolder these past few weeks.

He seemed to have gotten a grasp of what he wanted to do, what he wanted to try—and he wasn’t at all afraid to ask for it.

He also instigated things more often than Jesse did (though Jesse always wanted to do whatever he asked anyway, so it wasn’t like he was asking too much of him) and even in terms of the actual sex, he was becoming more assertive.

Taking the lead, guiding Jesse instead of letting Jesse guide him, teasing him…

And although Jesse had, in the past, usually taken on the more dominant role, he enjoyed that change a lot.

And yet, something else made him long for tonight even more.

It was the ice.

By now, they had long since worked out the truth.

The little white particles that formed on Jamie’s skin and floated through the air and ‘exploded’ together with him whenever they were making love were, obviously, ice.

Tiny little pinprick snowflakes forming in the air and settling upon their hot, sweaty bodies.

And that wasn’t the only dreamlike thing that happened.

Although Jamie still insisted on holding himself back, he didn’t always have Jesse tie his hands.

And when they got carried away—in the heat of the moment, when Jamie grabbed Jesse when he was close to his climax—he wasn’t in full control of his powers anymore, unwittingly leaving behind trails of chilling, freezing ice, etched along Jesse’s spine or down his thigh.

It drove Jesse crazy, in all the most wonderful ways. There was no telling just what tonight had in store. All Jesse knew was that he couldn’t wait to find out.

But, when they approached their motel, fingers still intertwined, Jamie came to a slow stop in the parking lot.

Jesse turned to him questioningly, and caught sight of a strange, thoughtful expression on his face. He followed Jamie’s gaze across the lot to where a small fountain stood by the sign at the edge of the driveway. “Jamie?” he asked. “Is something wrong?”

Jamie didn’t answer. Instead, he turned and walked over to the fountain, pulling Jesse along with him—but not as if to show him something.

It was more like he’d forgotten Jesse was even there.

When they reached the fountain, Jamie stared down at it, his head tilting to the side as if he were thinking very deeply.

“What…” Jesse tried asking again, blinking between Jamie and the fountain. “Why are you—”

Jamie released his hold on Jesse’s hand, and then bent down, reaching out to touch the surface of the water. He took in a deep breath, closed his eyes, and frowned in deep concentration as a faint blue light appeared on his hands.

The fountain began to freeze over.

He was using his powers! Right out here in the open, where anyone could see him!

“J-Jamie, stop,” Jesse warned in a whisper. “This isn’t safe, what if someone notices?”

Once again, his words didn’t seem to register.

Jamie simply continued, his arms outstretched and his eyes tightly shut, as the water in the fountain crawled to a stop.

It reminded Jesse, oddly enough, of what it had used to look like when Jamie’s hair changed color—but in reverse.

Instead of starting up at the top, where the water poured out of the fountain, the ice began to form down below, where it all pooled together.

And then it climbed higher, inching up the running water until it finally reached the spout.

It was breathtaking to see, and Jesse found himself staring instead of protesting. But when Jamie finished and the whole thing was hard as stone, he suddenly remembered the pipes that ran the water through its cycle, and winced. “You’re going to break it,” he warned. “You have to undo it, before—”

Jamie let out a shuddering breath, his legs suddenly buckling beneath him.

Jesse darted forward, managing to catch him somewhat awkwardly before his knees hit the ground.

With a firm grip, Jesse helped him back up, his concern mounting as he noticed how pale Jamie’s face had become and how unevenly he was breathing.

“What happened?!” Jesse exclaimed in shock, supporting Jamie’s weight to keep him on his feet. “Why did you do that? Did it hurt you?”

“No,” Jamie panted breathlessly, giving Jesse a weak but triumphant sort of smile as he let Jesse hold him up. “No, I’m not hurt. Just… just thirsty.”

“Just thirsty, huh,” Jesse muttered, deciding to simply forget about the fountain for now and get Jamie upstairs and into their room. “Come on, we’ll get you some water up in our room.”

“And something to eat, maybe?” Jamie panted as they crossed the parking lot. “I’m… so hungry all of a sudden.”

“Uh…” Jesse glanced around the quiet street, not sure where he’d find a place that sold quick and ready meals nearby. “When we get upstairs, okay? I’ll google it on my phone,” he decided aloud. “I’ll go find you something and bring it back while you rest.”

“Don’t be so worried over me,” Jamie told him, still smiling happily as he started to put a little more weight on his own feet, and leaned a bit less on Jesse. “I’m fine, really.”

“But why did you do that?” Jesse couldn’t help but scold as they got to their door and he pulled free of Jamie’s hold just enough so that he could get the keycard out of his wallet.

“If the pipes in that fountain burst, it could cost the hotel a lot of money—and if they somehow find out it was us, we’d have a lot more problems to deal with than being made to foot the bill! ”

“I… just wanted to see if I could,” Jamie told him quietly. The smile slowly faded from his face as if he only just now realized what consequences this could’ve had.

“Well, maybe… you better not freeze an entire fountain again, okay?” Jesse sighed, pushing the door open and standing warily by in case Jamie needed help getting in.

Jamie entered the room and sat down on the bed, letting out a bit of a sigh himself—as if he was exasperated, but also knew he couldn’t argue the point. “Okay…”

Damn it, Jesse hated when he looked all disheartened like that.

“I mean, it was really impressive,” he admitted. “But first, someone could’ve seen you, and second, didn’t you maybe overdo it a bit? Why didn’t you stop when you realized it was getting too difficult?”

“Because I knew I could do it,” Jamie replied. “There was no reason to give up.”

“I understand that, but…” Jesse pushed a hand through his hair in worry. “Let’s just assume that no matter how strong your powers truly are or might get, they still might… not be unlimited, you know? I’m just concerned, that’s all.”

Jamie looked up at him, seeming to realize even more how tense Jesse now was. The guilt in his eyes grew. “I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “I’ll be careful, okay?”

Jesse gave in with a sigh.

“But you really don’t need to worry,” Jamie insisted. “I know what I’m doing, I know my limits. I can feel it, I can sense it, when I use them. If you also had powers, you’d know what I mean.”

Jesse forced a bit of a laugh. He still didn’t like it, but then again, he didn’t understand it.

He’d never encountered anyone like Jamie before.

All his knowledge from nursing school didn’t give him any insight into things like…

this. So he tried to mask his discomfort with a bit of hu mor.

“Unfortunately, Austin was wrong and it still doesn’t look like I got some of your powers. ”

Now it was Jamie’s turn to laugh a little. “Maybe it’s better this way.” He sobered, a tired, troubled look coming to his face as he looked down at his hands. “It’s bad enough that one of us is doing strange things. At least your normal balances us out.”

As if Jesse was what most people called ‘normal.’ Still, it wouldn’t do to have Jamie feeling badly on this trip.

Not with how upset he already got whenever the topic of ‘normal’ came up.

“Hey, I love your strange things,” Jesse said, leaning over to Jamie as he sat on the bed, and giving him a long, gentle kiss.

“I really do. Now then, I’ll go find, like, a Burger King or something and grab you some food, okay? Just stay in bed, I’ll be right back.”

“Thank you,” Jamie said—and then he flashed a grin that, after the past few weeks, Jesse knew all too well. “And then, after I’ve eaten…?”