At least Daniel didn't have to deal with the humiliation of Johnny carrying him this time.

The campers were in their rehearsals, and the counselors took the opportunity to hike back to the waterfall. It was a "tiny chunk of paradise" as Jess had once called it. They'd spent the afternoon lounging about the creek, swimming in the cold water and splashing each other. They went several rounds of chicken, Ali sitting up on Bobby's shoulders while Daniel sat up on Johnny's, feeling nothing but secure with Johnny's firm grip as his thighs rested on his broad shoulders.

The perfect day seemed to draw to a close much too soon though, as Jessica had went to her bag by the creek's edge and fished out her watch. "The kids should be wrapping things up now, we should get going."

"Are you sure?" Daniel asked. "Maybe just a couple more minutes..."

Jess spared him that annoyed-yet-endeared look. "I'm sure," she said, getting out of the water and wrapping her towel around herself, covering her purple bathing suit.

"Are you really sure?" Johnny added on.

Jess looked over as Bobby, Ali, and Susan got out of the water as well. "You guys can stay in here all you want, but we're leaving, and I'm sure we're not gonna want to have to take care of your campers on top of our own."

"We won't," Ali added, slipping on her shoes and slinging her bag over her shoulder.

"Okay, okay, we'll be out in a minute. You guys go on." Johnny insisted. Jess glanced over at Daniel for a split second, Daniel flushing slightly at the implication dancing in her eyes, but the look only lasted a moment. Honestly, just because Daniel and Johnny would be lagging behind for a minute, that didn't mean they were hooking up.

But then the counselors were headed off into the trees, and Daniel started for his bag at the edge of the creek, before strong arms wrapped around his waist.

"Hey there," Johnny's voice murmured, familiar and warm in his ear before he nipped Daniel's lobe. "You weren't about to leave, were you?"

It was as if it was their first time again. Daniel could feel more than just a spark, he felt thousands of tiny sparks dancing all across his body, warming his cells like little fireworks. His mind short-circuited, thinking only to his bare needs: his arms are so strong, he feels so big against me in every way.

Daniel managed a soft laugh. "What would you do about it if I did?" He asked, but his voice was teasing, and he made a point to push his ass back against Johnny.

He could feel Johnny make a soft wanting noise against him, hoisting Daniel up and holding him even more firmly. "Well, I'd probably try to convince you to stay," with that, he turned Daniel around so he was facing him, then started towards the waterfall. He stopped short where the water gushed off the rocks, then glanced at Daniel with an amused smile. "Trust me, okay?"

"Huh?" Daniel asked, but before he could process what Johnny was about to do, the blonde pushed him up and into the waterfall. Chilled water drenched him for a few less-than-pleasant seconds, and then...there was the other side.

It wasn't beautiful. It wasn't a magical witch's cove with glowing crystals like something from a movie. But it was a simple cave, spacious with grand stalagmites slicing up and down the walls.

Johnny emerged a moment later, shaking out his hair like a dog before beaming proudly. "So, what do you think?" He asked, and Daniel noticed how his voice echoed within the cavern, all encompassing yet enclosed in the space.

Daniel cringed at the droplets of water Johnny had flung his way as if he wasn't already soaked, frowning at Johnny. "Well, it's no queen sized luxury mattress in a five star hotel." He noticed how his voice echoed as well, and he blushed at the thought of it being so loud.

"You have quite the taste, Larusso," Johnny commented, throwing a leg over Daniels' and getting into his lap as if it was strictly business. He lifted Daniel's chin up by his thumb and pointer finger, gazing at him thoughtfully. "You just want someone to spoil you and fill you up, don't you?"

Daniel swallowed, determined to meet Johnny's eyes, wondering dimly why everything had to be a competition even once it got down to this. "M-Maybe I do..."

"Maybe you do," Johnny reflected, apparently through with denying himself as he leaned down to kiss Daniel with all the same eagerness of before. "I know you do. That's why I brought you here, so I could hear you beg for me nice and pretty..."

"Oh," Daniel breathed, eyes lighting up in silent recognition, but closing when Johnny leaned in for another kiss.

"Oh," Johnny echoed, grinning smugly into a third kiss, fourth, and Daniel's mind was too fogged over to keep count.

"But...won't somebody come by and hear?" Daniel managed, his breathing slightly heavier as he could feel Johnny's lips map out familiar sensitive points on his neck.

"Don't worry about it, babe, the waterfall makes it virtually soundproof," Johnny replied, sucking a hickey onto Daniel's skin--and it's low enough to hide with his shirt. Probably. Daniel doesn't pay it any mind, only arching his back as Johnny's hands move down to his ass.

"Babe," Daniel rolled his eyes. "And it's totally not creepy that you took me to a soundproofed place or anything..."

"It was right here," Johnny scoffed. "Don't make me dump you in the water again." he claimed, straight-faced, but even so, he couldn't help but grin as Daniel laughed softly at the threat.

"Alright, fine," Daniel laid down on the cave ground, which was thankfully relatively flat. "Thanks for taking me to the most romantic place in the whole camp to do me."

Johnny rolled his eyes fondly. "You said it yourself," he leaned over Daniel, pushing his hair back and admiring him for a moment. Daniel looked up, and in that moment he was fully trusting of Johnny to take care of him--he wondered why he ever wanted to be on top before. "Nothing more romantic than doin' it in a dark, moist cave."

Daniel grinned at that, but he was quick to put a hand to his mouth when Johnny's hands wondered under his swimming trunks. As his hand wrapped around Daniel's length, slowly stroking, Daniel let out a shaky breath, muffled by his hand.

Johnny gave Daniel a pointed look at that, pulling his hand away and pinning it to the ground, intertwining their fingers. "Let me hear you, Daniel," he said softly, his hand moving faster.

Daniel let out a strangled noise, only able to nod and roll his hips against Johnny's hand. "L-Let me touch you, then, Johnny..."

Johnny nodded, freeing his hand from Daniel's to slip off his swimming trunks, allowing Daniel to wrap a hand around his length as well. "We--We don't have all day," Johnny's face flushed as he rolled his hips into Daniel's touch. "I--I really wanted to fuck you again, but we don't have time--"

"It's okay," Daniel breathed shakily, admiring how Johnny's bangs, which had already started drying out, were in his eyes. "We can do it just like this, yeah?"

Johnny nodded, letting out a sound like a whimper, which couldn't be denied because of how the sounds of the cave echoed.

Daniel watched in awe at how his skin flushed, admired his toned chest in a way he hadn't been able to earlier, in front of the others. "Two way street," he whispered.

"H-Huh?" Johnny asked faintly, and his eyes showed his distance, how he was blissfully not fully there.

"You get to hear me, I get to hear you," Daniel insisted, twisting his hand in a way he knew Johnny liked. (He loosely wondered what he'd do with all this knowledge on what Johnny liked, but he supposed he could throw it out like all his end-of-the-school year knowledge. Or he could write it down and stow it away.)

Johnny seemed to make a point of trying to be quiet, but he couldn't seem to help it when it came to Daniel. "F-Fuck, Daniel, you annoying little shit," he muttered, but even so, he returned his hand to holding Daniel's, squeezing it tight. He managed to lean down--must have been all those one-armed push-ups--and pressed his lips to Daniel's. "I--I think 'm close..."

Daniel doesn't know where he suddenly thought of it, but he murmurs against Johnny's lips. "Bet you wish you were coming down my throat, don't you, sweetheart?"

Johnny groaned, a shiver coursing through him as he suddenly came over Daniel's thighs, Daniel only a few seconds behind. Daniel could feel Johnny pant against the crook of his neck as they both pulled their hands away, slipping their swimming trunks back on. "Don't...don't call me sweetheart..." Johnny breathed, trying to seem casual, though he was avoiding Daniel's eyes.

Daniel frowned. "Come on, you liked it, didn't you?" he asked, putting a comforting hand on Johnny's arm.

Johnny looked his way and managed a crooked smile. "Maybe a bit...but don't push your luck, Larusso..."

"Whatever you say, sweetheart," Daniel insisted, tempted to lean in and kiss his cheek, but, well...that would be breaking some unspoken rule, somehow and someway. He never did know the rules with Johnny until he broke them, but he suspected in part that was due to Johnny being like a skittish deer in regards to his sexuality.

The pair made their way out of the cave, Daniel laughing as the water washed over them. They got their things, and Johnny suddenly put a hand over Daniel's.

"Hm?" Daniel questioned, lips pursed.

"Um...we should go at staggered times, so it doesn't look like we were getting...too close..." Johnny murmurs, sitting at the creek's edge with his legs in the water. He gets out his towel, wrapping it around himself almost comfortingly.

Daniel's brows furrow as he looks Johnny over curiously, then looks away from him, because the doubtful look that's taken over Johnny's features really unsettles him.

"If you want to, yeah," Daniel replies, cheeks flushing almost as if he's worried about what Johnny thinks of him. If he thinks he's too clingy. But that can't be it. No, he just has a sunburn.

Johnny nods, gathering his things. He casts one last glance towards Daniel, and he looks almost sad. Daniel wondered what he'd do if he asked to talk about whatever this was he was suddenly feeling. Not that he was going to.

Johnny pressed a kiss to Daniel's forehead--surprisingly affectionate, given the circumstances--before hopping up and wandering down the hiking trail. Just like that, Daniel was alone.

The air suddenly felt slightly colder, and Daniel got out of the water in favor of huddling in his sun-soaked towel. He wondered how long he was supposed to just stay out here--he wondered if someone had said something to Johnny, about how close they appeared. (Daniel didn't know why he cared--surely Johnny didn't--but the idea suddenly made his heartbeat increase double, made his spit hard to swallow. It was one thing to be proudly in the closet, but to actually make people question if you were with a boy? Well...)

Time slips past like the quickly moving creek water, as the warmth of his towel makes him start to doze off. When he fully wakes up, the sky casts a dark blue light over the scenery, and Daniel deems it time to go back. His stomach grumbles, and as he fishes a granola bar from his bag on the walk back to the boys cabin, he hopes that he can still go get something from the dining pavilion.

When he gets back to the cabin, three sets of eyes meet him, expectant.

"What the hell were you out so late for?" Tommy asks. "Johnny said he had no idea where you were!"

Daniel looked over at Johnny, eyebrows raised, to see him shrug. His eyes were unreadable, but honestly. Johnny might as well have shoved him into a locker and called him a slur.

"Sorry, guys," Daniel started, going over to his bed and putting his things away just for something to do with his trembling hands. "I would have loved to come back sooner, but I was hanging out with Jess."

The immediate silence that descended over the cabin told Daniel immediately that he fucked up. The late night, the disheveled appearance...their own stupid straight assumptions...

"You were out with Jessica?" Tommy reflects, leaning forward off his bed, eyes alight with interest. "You can't just say that and then leave us in the dark! Details, man!"

"Dea--" Daniel starts, hating how high and hoarse his voice rang out. He cleared his throat. "What do you mean, 'details'?" he asks, laughing casually as if his face is not beet-red. Honestly. Johnny's looking him over with a brow raised, and damn, he cleaned up nicer. One could not even begin to guess Johnny had just been ravished in a cave; the same could not be said for Daniel.

"He's desperate for anything, man." Bobby supplies, looking casual, though his cheeks flushed a little pink. Daniel supposed he always got that way when sex was mentioned, but especially any of the girls. Or just Jessica and Ali; he never seemed to mind when comments were made on Susan being gay. "Just a sliver of what it's like to be with a girl--"

"Oh!" Tommy pipes up. "Her bra, what'd it look like?"

Daniel feels on the edge of a heart attack; Bobby's knuckles are white, his eyes flashing like he wanted to knock Tommy's teeth out. Daniel looks desperately at Johnny, whose blue eyes reflect back at him. 'Well?' they question, 'get on with it.'

Daniel tries to think 'girl's bras, Jessica's bra, a bra he peeked at in Tommy's '81 Playboy when he thought no one was looking'. In the end, though, his mind only circles back to Johnny. Straddling his hips in their secluded spot in the cave, the water gently crashing down in the most beautiful, mesmerizing sound. His swimming trunks were gray, but Daniel couldn't give a damn about that, not when he was touching Johnny underneath the clothing, relishing the feeling of him arching against him, of the low moan from his lips, begging for more from Daniel--

"It was gray," Daniel manages, blank and stupid.

Tommy's face is a blunt mixture of confused and disappointed. "Her bra was gray?"

Daniel nods, thinking of improv shows he saw back in Jersey with his ma. 'Yes, and'. "And lacey," he confirms, proud of himself for getting back on track with a convincing story.

Tommy nods sagely. "Like a sexy librarian," he whispers in awe.

Bobby looks as though he's about to explode, and Daniel doesn't have the slightest clue as to why. Johnny visibly face-palms, his face flushed red underneath his hand.

(Daniel thinks he might kill Johnny--and Jess might kill him for the lie--but for now, all that settles over him is a off-kilter sense of relief.)