Summer Camp - 12. Retaliation

Gregg was quiet, but not morose as they tackled the tree top track. The sun was warm and dappled through the leaves, and Paddy was at ease enough with the group to turn it into a game. He had the boys running through the tree tops chased by imaginary zombies, firing Rambo-style non-existent guns into the canopy above them. He moved back and forth along the line, keeping everything in control and making sure all the kids were safe. Matthew was well in the lead, showing off just a little bit, making himself look good. Paddy’s favourite section was the single tight rope with one overhead rope to be held in case of emergencies. Gregg was the last one in the line, but somehow, Tom ended up behind him.

“Er… Paddy? Are you sure this is safe?”

“Aye laddie, c’mon. You’ll do grand.”

Gregg stepped onto the tight rope with some trepidation, hands going up instantly to grip the rope over his head. He was tall, long in the limb, so it wasn’t as much of a stretch it had been for Conner who had arrived next to the big Scot. Gregg inched his way across, not looking terribly happy, and Paddy remembered that being off the floor was not generally a place ground burrowing animals like hare’s tended to be. He’d do much better at the scramble course, in and out of tight spaces. Gregg was half way across when Tom, despite being told all the rules, stepped onto the rope.

“Ah!”

“Tom!” Paddy snarled, “Go back. Ri’ now!”

He didn’t listen, and clipped to the safety line, stood on the tight rope, grabbed the overhead to which Gregg was still clutching in white knuckles, and jumped.

All hi weight landed on the tight rope, and it wobbled violently, the hand rope also flexed and tension snapped along it. Gregg yelped, let go to stare at his sore hands, and then realised what he’d done. There was a look of absolute panic as his eyes meet Paddy’s for a long millisecond before gravity took notice of him, and he fell with a scream.

Paddy didn’t exactly think about what he was doing, but unsnapped his safety line, swung across the tight rope hand over hand to where Gregg was hanging by his harness, hands clutching for dear life at his safety rope, fifteen feet above the forest floor. There were safety nets about half way down, and Paddy could have easily unclipped him and allowed him to slide down his own long line onto the nets, but the boy was shaking with the fear of falling.

“Ye alright Gregg. Yer nae hurt.”

The hare stared at him with moon-round eyes and didn’t speak.

“Ach, c’mon it’ll be OK. Hang tight tae me an we’ll go down.”

“No.”

“Huh?”

“I have to finish.” Gregg still looked scared but his mouth was set in a firm line, determination written across his features, “I’m going to finish the course and I’m not going back down. I’ll show Tom who the special one is.”

“Right ye are.” Paddy tried to stop himself from beaming, secretly pleased. “OK, I’m gonna clip you tae me, then I’m going tae clip tha’ safety rope tae me an we’re going tae go along to the end.” And then, he thought; I’m going to shout at Tom until he balls his fucking eyes out. Obnoxious little bullying shit.

Matthew was waiting for them when they got back to the landing stage in the trees. Some of the other boys were at the next stable patch along, waiting for them and it was obvious the tall blond had told them not to go any further without their instructor. Paddy smiled.

“Are you alright Gregg?” Matthew asked gently. There was no underlying tone in his voice, no agenda, and Paddy smiled.

“I’m fine.” Paddy elbowed him, “Thanks.”

“At a lad. Matthew, ye get Tom tae come back here please, an tell tha others tae wait.” Paddy unhooked from his belt the walkie talkie that none of them had ever actually needed. “Paddy in tha trees. Need assistance fer an unruly student. Over.”

“Hey Paddy.” It was Ava’s voice on the other end. “I can come pick him up. Put him on the ground for me. Over.”

“Aye.”

Tom looked totally unashamed, bolshy and full of his over inflated self-importance when Paddy got to him.

“Ye! Down!”

“What?”

Paddy snarled.

“It’s not my fault Gregg is shit at keeping his balance.”

“Sod you!” Gregg went to push the broader boy, but Paddy put an arm out to stop him.

“Ye nae want tae be taking yerself down tae his level lad. Leave it be.” He shook his head. “Ye just lost privileges for tha rest o’ the day. Down tha ladder we go. The rest o’ ye wait here.”

It took two minutes to get Tom down to the ground, and another one for Ava to come and fetch him. She sighed and shook her head, and as Paddy started back up the tree, he could hear her already starting on a tirade of how annoying it was going to be for her to watch him sweep and wash out the shower block. He shut out tom’s annoying groan and arrived back in the canopy.

“We all right?” The group nodded. “Then off we go.” Only Conner moaned the loss of their team mate and Gregg seemed to have recovered from his slight proximity to death experience. He walked with Matthew and the confident blond obviously rubbed off a bit on Gregg, because by the time they were all back on the ground at the end of the course, the young hare turned to him with shining eyes and an eager smile.

“Paddy can we do it again?”

“Nae laddie, but wi can hae another go at tha assault course on our way back if ye like.” This was met with a rousing cheer from the boys, and Paddy grinned. It was another beautiful day in the woods.

They got back to camp as Troy arrived with his group, all girls, which Paddy knew was his mate’s least favourite, with a talkative teacher who was obviously boring him senseless. Paddy felt the tug on his heart string, the general fed up expression on Troy face, and dismissed the boys as they came into the field to jog over to the man he loved.

“Good morning?”

“Yeah,” False brightness pinged through Troy’s voice like the bizarre harmonics of a plastic bell, “The girls did alright on the scrambling course. I’m back up there all bloody afternoon.”

Paddy clapped him on the shoulder, purely for the excuse to touch, and felt the sudden rush of warmth and emotion that coursed through him from Troy’s skin.

“C’mon, we’ll go grab a bite to eat yeah?” He arched an eyebrow and skimmed Troy’s body up and down. There was no mistaking the heat in his mate’s eyes when they met, the hot-cold scent of salt and ice coming from him.

No one missed them as the two young men slunk into the forest behind their cabin, going quickly through the thick trees and undergrowth. There were two trees that had grown so close together about fifty yards in, as to be practically joined for about twenty feet, with thick low hanging branches. It was a nice little sheltered spot for what Paddy had in mind.

It took him all of two seconds to push Troy up against the bark, rough and prickly against his skin, find his way in through the barriers of their clothes to have them both hard and ready in his hand. Troy hissed with desire and sensation.

“Oh fuck I missed you.” Troy wrapped his arms around Paddy’s shoulders, fingernails digging into the muscles of his neck, “Patrick…”

Paddy kissed him, crushing the slim young man against the tree with his superior weight and growled against his skin. Troy shivered.

“I hae an idea.” Paddy brushed his lips against Troy’s large freckled markings when he whispered, “D’ye trust me?”

“Uh huh.” Troy’s eyes were huge and bright, his mouth open, panting softly into the warm air that built between them, heated by their bodies and racing hearts.

Paddy wrapped his fingers more firmly around their twin erections and stroked long and slow, twisting his wrist and breathing against Troy’s skin. He’d learnt enough to know exactly what it was his mate really liked when he jacked him off, and now he put all those tricks in to bring them both to the point of panting desperately in less than a minute. Paddy growled and Troy whimpered in time.

“Wait.”

What he wanted to do, really really wanted to do, was stroke Troy as he entered him fuck him against the hard bark of the tree and leave scratches in the smooth skin of his back. Growl and moan and bite on his neck and claim him for his own. As if he hadn’t done that already. But Troy wasn’t ready. Instead he moved his hips away from his mate’s just a little, keeping Troy where he was with shoulders pushed back against the tree, and lined up the heads of their cocks. Troy was watching his actions in horny fascination.

“Patrick?”

“Shhh.” Paddy kissed him again. He’d only done this once before, and it had been his buddy at the time that had suggested and initiated the act. He was only half sure what he was doing. Trying to explain the idea to Troy was definitely not going to help matters at this point. Gently he teased his foreskin back over the pink head of his cock and touched it to Troy’s own exposed tip. The lynx hissed between his teeth, a sound which was halfway to a snarl, but his body vibrated with pleasure and desire. Paddy smiled, biting his lip in concentration.

Troy’s foreskin was shorter than his, but he coaxed it gently over the very end of his own cock, binding them together in an intimate and strange way. Then he rolled his own loose skin back over them both, and wrapped his hand around the join. Troy broke his stare and looked up at paddy, half confused, and half resisting.

“Babe?”

“Trust me.”

“Yes.” Troy answered him quickly, without the slightest hint of hesitation, and when Paddy kissed him again he felt the surrender, sweet like honey in his mouth, and knew he’d won a little more ground in the land between them. Neither of them was ever going to outright win or lose, but it was a hot slick of delightful sensation to understand Troy was letting him take control, giving up on the thing he been incredibly certain of. Troy liked to have his life a certain way, and Paddy knew starting a brand new job away from family and falling in love with a guy had certainly put out a few of Troy’s otherwise carefully laid plans.

It felt so good, like the string that ran through their hearts was intensified with fire. A pleasure so sharp and intense it almost hurt. Paddy used his other hand to jack Troy’s cock slowly at first, gaining speed as the lynx lost his trepidation and gave in to the sensation which was both strange and good. When Troy’s slim strong fingers began to tease and tickle at his own member, Paddy growled against the mottled skin of his mate.

“Troy…” He groaned, nipping at the skin, tasting the soft short hairs which spread from Troy’s chest. He had the shorter man pushed up against the tree, literally standing on his tip toes to bring them into line the way he had. The force of desire kept Troy pinned, but he was far from helpless. Paddy suddenly realised as he gasped into his mate’s skin, he might have been wrong about which one of them had won.

The tender flesh of their tips rubbed together under the bond of their skin, the slick slide of precum and the high pitched gasping from Troy as each of them sped up. Paddy had forgotten, almost, how much he had enjoyed this, because now they were started, it was impossible to think of stopping in order to fuck his mate instead, even if that had been something Troy was ready for. Troy was whimpering against his chest, both of them watching their fingers moving almost in a blur over each other’s skin.

“Patrick…” Troy’s voice was a whine in his ear. “I’m coming! Babe, oh!”

The hot wetness of Troy’s seed surrounding him, filing the space under his skin made Paddy grunt and groan. He half collapsed, leaning all his weight into troy as his legs tried to give way underneath him as he came against the tender flesh of Troy’s cock. His hand kept them locked together, panting harshly into the warm air, the near silence of the forest around them.

“Oh fuck…” Paddy found his voice from somewhere and sighed, “Troy…”

“Hmmm…” His mate was soft and sleepy against him, his eyes glassy with pleasure and the newness of the sensation, “That’s fun.”

“Un huh.” Paddy glanced down and very carefully, teased them apart from each other. Their mixed seed slopped to the ground in a thick trail. Troy stroked him with gentle calloused fingers.

“That’s way better than having lunch.” Troy shook slightly all over, like a cat readjusting the set of its fur, and tucked himself back into his shorts. Suddenly, his head snapped up, nostrils flaring.

Paddy grabbed for his mate just in time as Troy whirled around and saw Gregg, the skinny little hare with massive eyes, watching them from a patch of brambles under the pine trees. Paddy remembered his shorts were around his knees, and groaned. The boy sprang away, racing back towards the field, leaving a trail of panic and fear.

“Aww fuck.”

“That’s gonna be fucking inconvenient.” Troy snarled, his relaxed mood gone in the time it had taken for tension and fear to snap along the line which bound them, “Are you sure I can’t just kill him?”

“Troy.” Paddy fixed his mate with a hard stare, “Jus’ leave it tae me OK?” The big Scot pulled up his shorts and straightened them. “We’d best go an’ make an appearance, Noah can only cover fer us fer so long.”

“And how do you think his teachers, or Nic, are going to react when he blabs about what he’s seen?”

“Nae.” Paddy was confident. “He’s tae scared tae tell anyone babe.”

Troy grumbled, and Paddy hooked an arm around his neck, pulling him in for a hug. The Norwegian wasn’t annoyed enough to protest further, and snuggled up against his mate. It was so pleasant and soft to stand in the patch of sun under the trees and tune out the distant sounds of kids and humans. It was like being home, and it was a shock to realise home was somewhere they didn’t even agree on. Paddy tugged gently at the string that wrapped around his heart.

“Babe?”

“Where d’ye want tae live?”

“Me and mum live in Cumbria.” Troy replied before looking up at him, “Your family is huge right?”

“Aye.”

“I could live in Scotland.” Troy sounded like he might be trying to convince himself of the idea as he spoke, “Maybe. I am not living with your parents though.”

“Sure.” Paddy didn’t want to return back to the normal world. The desire to leave, run out on all of their responsibility was suddenly enormously overwhelming.

“I can feel you thinking in there babe.” Troy chided gently, “We can’t just up and leave Paddy and you know it.”

“I ken. Disnae mean I daen’t want tae though.” Paddy sulked.

Gregg was hovering around the edges of the forest when they emerged, looking jumpy and confused.

“Gregg?”

“You’re not supposed to be on this side of the field kid.” Troy’s tone was gruff with an edge of snarl as he stepped away from Paddy. “I have kit to sort out.”

“Aye.” Paddy watched his mate walk away. “Gregg. We hae tae talk about this.”

“Why?”

“Gregg…” Paddy scuffed his hiking boots in the grass, “Ye should nae hae seen tha’. It was private.”

“If it was private, why were you in the woods? There are people in the woods all over this place.”

“Aye. Ye might have a point thar.”

Gregg half turned away, then looked at him sideways, obviously building up the nerve to say something.

“What were you doing Paddy?”

“Ye’ll understand when yer older.” On the other hand, he might be straight. “Or ye won’t”

“But-!”

“I w’s showin’ my mate I love him.” Paddy ruffled the boy’s hair with one hand. “An’ it aten’t nae o’ yer business. C’mon ye, gotta go show all these guys how tae abseil down a wall.”

“But I can’t abseil…” Gregg whined as he jogged to catch up with the bear. “Paddy…”

Paddy chuckled. He’d managed to avoid a rather awkward conversation with the kid, at least for now. He could feel Troy on the one end of the line, happy and sated, sending love and warmth and a definite sense of longing for the weekend. It was a good day.

*

So much could change in six hours, and Paddy stood over the entrance of the tent and tried to keep a tight grip on his self-control as he snarled at the assembled shaking boys.

He’d been on the last sweep before the teachers took over for the night, and had discovered Gregg in the shower block wearing nothing but a frightened expression in one of cubicles. He’d given the boy his hoodie, which while oversized on Paddy, was ridiculously enormous on Gregg, and walked the young shifter back to his tent. There they had discovered all of Gregg’s stuff was gone, and while Rory and Matthew both looked sort of sheepish, Tom especially seemed cocky and pleased with himself. It had taken all of ten seconds to find out from Riley, red faced and boasting, that Gregg’s towel, along with his rucksack and sleeping bag, were now residing in the muddy area on the lakeside where feet and kayaks had carved up the grass.

Paddy lost it. Noah had taken Gregg away to the big marquee with Mr Ralph to find some clothes and get warm and dry.

“Ye despicable little rat!” Tom, the ringleader of the little plan, was no longer cocky in the face of Paddy’s rage, “Ye think picking on ‘im makes ye tha big man eh? Yer spinless shit!” He turned on the assembled party of shivering teenagers. “All o’ ye are as bad as each other. Ye nae said a nice thing tae ‘im and put ‘im doon tae feel better about yerselves! Dae ye feel better now?”

The seven boys did nothing but snivel.

“WELL DAE YE?”

“No…” Conner looked shamed by his earlier actions, “It was just a bit of fun.”

Paddy roared.

“Will it still be fun when I make ye all sleep in tha mud!” He was on the verge of losing control; the idea of big paws, long claws and speedy death was attractive right then. Troy tugged him back, both on the line that connected them and with a firm hand on his shoulder.

“Enough Patrick.” The words were firm, and Paddy felt the command push his rage back under the surface. “They’re plenty sorry now.”

Matthew looked miserable, staring at some indistinct point in the middle distance beyond his feet with red rimmed eyes.

“Yer worst ‘f all.” Paddy spat.

“Huh?” Matthew glanced up at him. “But I wasn’t involved. I didn’t throw his stuff away.”

“By letting injustice happen in your presence, you are just as guilty as they are.” Troy’s eyes narrowed as he spoke, “Evaluate your choices kid.”

Mr Ralph sent the boys into their tent and zipped them in with solid instructions that if he heard the slightest bit of noise they would all be being shipped home in the morning. Noah had collected Gregg’s sodden gear from the lakeside, and what had been salvageable from his clothes had gone to the laundry. The sleeping bag was ruined.

“We’ll find another tent for you for tonight Gregg.” Mr Ralph said softly. Noah had found clothes for the boy, and now he sat in the big marquee in old tracksuit bottoms and hiking socks in Paddy’s big hoodie with a towel around his shoulders.

“No. Everyone will laugh at me.”

“They won’t, we’ll find space.”

“All the other tents have eight kids in already.” Noah said, “But he can’t stay here in the marquee.”

“Is there a spare tent you can put up?” the teacher smiled at his shivering pupil with a hopeful expression.

“Aye.”

“I don’t want to.” Gregg’s eyes were hard but scared. “They’ll know it’s me and a tent is no defence at all.” He turned to Paddy and the big Scot felt his heart go out to the kid. “Can’t I stay with you?”

“Och laddie, nae ye cannae stay wi’ us.” He turned to Mr Ralph. “but if it’s a’right wi ye, I’ll put up a little one man tent on our side o’ tha road. Give him a bit o’ security liek.”

“OK. That seems fine I suppose.” Mr Ralph shrugged, “We’ll have to find you something more permanently tomorrow though OK?

It took all of six minutes to put up the new tent, which Paddy placed close to, but not exactly nearby, his and Troy’s cabin. Noah found a spare sleeping bag and an air mattress and Gregg got to use the staff bathroom block to brush his teeth with someone’s spare emergency toothbrush. Ava lent him a torch for the night, even though Paddy knew the boy wouldn’t need it. The moon was big and bright above the tree line.

“Ye be alright?” Paddy asked gently, when Gregg stood at the door to his tent.

“Yes. I think so.”

“Ye nae tempted tae pack it in an’ go home then?”

“No.” Gregg looked sulky. “I don’t want them to think they’re stronger than me.”

“Well you’ve changed your tune.” Troy put his hand on Paddy’s shoulder, “C’mon you.”

“Night Gregg.”

“Night Paddy. Bye Troy.” Gregg gave them both a little wave, and ducked into his tent.

“Come on babe.”

“No more having sex in the woods.” Paddy muttered and they both heard Gregg’s sigh of relief.

“He’s gonna be able to hear us all night isn’t he?” Troy sighed in an exasperated tone.

“Yeah. Sorry babe.”

Paddy stripped off his t-shirt as Troy shut the door behind them and sighed at the sight of the big bed, covered with the blanket which showed and smelt of home. Sure, there had been other nights when they’d not had sex of some sort or another, but those times were few and far between. Now the idea they couldn’t have sex anywhere Gregg might hear them was like being back at school, being a teenager and having to be careful about kissing boys in the back garden in case anyone saw. Troy curled under his arm as he sat down to take off his boots and Paddy snuggled into the warmth of the man he loved.

“Humans can be such unbelievable shits.” Troy sighed.

“It’s nae human’s fault pet. All kids are jus’ as bad.” Paddy smiled. “Me an’ me cousins used tae play mean tricks on each other when we were younger. Kids are cruel.”

“Hrumph.”

“Babe…”

“Can I really not go hunting all week?” Troy whined. “And no sex? It’s not fair.”

Paddy kissed Troy’s hair softly before scooting back on the bed, making room for Troy to curl up against him. Now it was Troy who dragged the big quilt across them and snuggled into the soft clean warmth of the bed.

“Ye’ve changed babe. Remember tha’ first night when ye tried tae sleep wi’ ye boots on?” Troy purred against his collarbone, “And ye will live with nae fresh meat fer a week. Kid’ll smell it on yer and it’ll freak him out.”

“You mean I actually have to eat vegetables?” Troy said the word like it was foreign to him.

“Aye babe. Now get some sleep.”

“Feels weird to go to sleep with a semi…” Troy yawned like a lion. “I love you babe, even though you spoil my fun.”

Paddy looked down at the man curled up in his arms. Troy looked just as he had the first day, freckled, beautiful; perhaps now he was marginally cleaner and his hair was smoother than it had been, but largely he was the same. So much had changed in so few weeks. They were together, happy, and even though he was facing a week without getting off, he could feel the glow around his heart, stronger and brighter than it had been that afternoon in the woods.