The environment and air density of Earthrealm felt alien to Cameron after being in Outworld for the few hours he had been. Is this how the others all felt after they'd finished a mission? Thrusting Tremor roughly through the portal, Cameron walked into the military base, Kung Jin holding Tremor by the other arm and Cassie, Takeda, Sub-Zero and Jacqui behind them - in case Tremor decided to run. As they stepped through, Johnny, Sonya and Kenshi were all eagerly waiting to see them.
"Here they are." Kenshi pointed out, hearing their footsteps. Having trained his sense to the absolute maximum to compensate for his loss of sight, he had highly advanced hearing, much better than any of the other Earthrealm warriors. Sonya and Johnny both turned to the portal to see the group stepping through it, red faced and tired looking.
"How did it go?" Sonya asked, approaching them all.
"We managed to fight off Liu Kang, Kitana and the others, and grab hold of Tremor." Cameron explained.
"Jacqui, Takeda and I all went to stop Kotal Kahn and his minions from being killed by Nightwolf, Kabal and Kung Lao, but they all escaped before we could bring any of them in for questioning." Cassie added. Takeda and Jacqui nodded.
"Sub-Zero, what are you doing here?" Johnny asked, only just clocking that the Grandmaster was there.
"Sonya told me that the group could possibly do with some help, so I left Frost in charge of the clan and headed in their direction. Here you go, by the way." he cut himself off, handing Sonya back the tracking device and walkie-talkie type device she'd given him before he left.
"Aah, thanks." she remarked, before turning to Tremor.
"Miss Blade, how long it has been." Tremor mockingly cooed.
"Save it. Oh, and it's Mrs Blade now." she retorted, before ordering Jin and Cameron to follow her, while still holding onto Tremor. When they'd gotten to the tiny interview room, Jin and Cameron both looked around at it. It was a tiny little box of a room, with nothing in it but a table and four chairs. There wasn't much room for people - probably enough room for Sonya, Johnny, Kenshi, Tremor and one or two troops - and there were no windows at all. It was also uncomfortably stuffy, and smelled funny.
"You two can go. Johnny, Kenshi and I will interrogate Tremor. If anything comes up, I'll let you know." Sonya explained, her stern tone back.
"Yes, General." Jin nodded, before turning and walking out of the room. Cameron smiled warmly at his mother, who smiled back with just as much affection, before following behind Jin.
"What's the time?" he asked, catching up to the Shaolin warrior. Jin looked around, hoping to find the others.
"Probably around 8pm. Why?" he questioned.
"Seems like enough time to go...out-out." Cameron replied. Jin turned to him, and his face compressed into a smile.
"You think?" the Shaolin replied, a devilish grin on his face. Cameron nodded, smiling widely.
"Of course. I'll go home and get changed and stuff, and I'll swing by your place and pick you up later, ok?" Cameron asked.
"Yeah, sounds great." the Shaolin replied, his heart fluttering a little bit. It had been a long time since he'd been on a date, so he was both nervous and excited. Luckily for him, he felt as though he could be himself around Cameron. He felt comfortable, and safe. Cameron lent forward and kissed Jin lightly on the cheek, and then turned and walked away. In that moment, Jin wanted to jump up and down and scream for joy, but he remembered he was in public so he restrained himself. Instead, he went to find the others.
"Hey guys!" he grinned when he saw them. They all waved and smiled.
"So, what are everyone's plans tonight?" Takeda asked.
"Well, Jacqui and I were thinking of going out clubbing. You guys are more than welcome to join." Cassie explained. Takeda thought about it for a moment. He wasn't a huge fan of clubbing, but he hadn't been out with his friends for quite a long time. With a gracious smile, he accepted.
"Jin? How about you, wanna come clubbing?" Takeda questioned.
"Sorry guys, can't make it..." he responded, a cool and composed tone to his voice.
With an annoyed frown, Jacqui cut him off, "Why not? None of us ever really get to see each other anymore, outside of work." A smile couldn't help but make its way across Jin's lips.
"You didn't let me finish. I can't make it because I have a date." he responded triumphantly. Cassie and Jacqui smiled.
"Who?!" Cassie asked loudly, suddenly very excited. She, along with Jacqui, had wanted Jin to find a boyfriend for a long time now, so maybe it was finally going to happen.
"Who else could it be, Cassie?" Takeda asked.
After a moment of pondering on it, Cassie exclaimed, "Cameron?! NO WAY!" Jacqui squealed a little bit, obviously very happy. Jin's smile widened further. Takeda slapped him on the arm lightly and smiled.
"Yep, Cameron. Anyway, I have to go because he's already left to get changed. I'll see you guys tomorrow." Jin remarked, walking away and waving. The other three waved back, still grinning. Hopefully, tonight would go well...
oOoOo
It didn't take Cameron as long as he would've thought to get changed. He put on a long sleeve, denim button-down with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, a pair of black skinny jeans and black Vans with the laces tucked into the shoes. He also wore a black bomber jacket over his shirt. After blow-drying, waxing and hairspraying his hair into the perfect position and spraying some deodorant and aftershave on himself, he grabbed his car keys, wallet and phone and got ready to leave.
"I'm going out, Fujin!" he shouted.
"Where are you going, Cameron?" Fujin declared in response. Not being sure whether to tell Fujin, he thought of telling a lie. But, it wasn't like he had anything to hide.
"Out...on a date." he responded. Fujin raised his eyebrows, although Cameron and Fujin were on seperate levels of the house so Cameron didn't see it.
"With who, may I ask?" Fujin inquired further, intrigued and interested.
"Kung Jin!" Cameron exclaimed. Fujin smiled.
"Well, make sure you have a good time. I'll see you later!" he replied loudly.
"See ya, Fujin!" Cameron shouted, before stepping outside. It wasn't a cold night, but it wasn't exactly warm. It was pretty average, to be honest. Taking long strides, Cameron made his way to his car, a black Seat Ibiza 2006. It was his first car, so it wasn't too expensive or amazing. It did its job very well, though.
"Here goes." he said to himself as he sat in his car and put the key in. Turning it, the engine let out a low purr. Putting his foot on the pedal, the car started to move slowly. Cameron was really nervous. Pulling up outside Jin's place, he stepped out of his car and walked up to his door. Knocking on it, a wave of nausea flew across Cameron's body. The door opened slowly, and Jin was stood there.
"Hey." he said with a smile. He wore a red-and-black checkered button down, with a black hoodie over the top, black skinny jeans and black Converse low shoes.
"Hey there." Cameron said, feigning confidence. Jin smelled good. Really good.
"Nice outfit." Jin complimented. Cameron smiled.
"Thanks, but yours is nicer." he said smoothly. Jin's cheek went a faint tint of pink.
"Shall we get going, then?" Cameron offered. Jin already had his phone and wallet, so he nodded and stepped outside.
"What's the plan then?" Jin asked. Cameron had the whole evening planned out, so he knew the answer to this straight away.
"Well, I was thinking a movie, then going to play some games in the arcade and then coffee. Sound good?"
"Sounds perfect." Jin smiled. Opening the door to the passenger seat, Jin sat down on the seat. It was comfortable and soft.
"What movie do you want to see?" Cameron asked.
Pondering on it, Jin replied, "No dramas or romcoms. Hate those so much."
"Same! They're all really boring." Cameron exclaimed.
"I know, right?! And they all end the same, with the unlikely couple getting together and being happy for the rest of their lives. Urgh, so predictable." Jin complained. Laughing, Cameron nodded in agreement.
"What about Regression, that new horror movie?" he offered.
"Ooh yeah, that looks great!" Jin exclaimed. With a nod and a smile, Cameron put his foot down and they drove to the cinema.
oOoOo
"Well, that was disappointing." Jin groaned as they walked out of the cinema.
"Yeah, not as good as I was hoping." Cameron added, displeased. Jin got his wallet out of his pocket and fished some money out of it, trying to put it in Cameron's hand.
"Nope, that one's on me. Don't worry about it." he said, earning a gracious smile from Jin. He put the money back in his wallet.
"Arcades?" he asked, grinning.
"Arcades!" Cameron exclaimed, feeling oddly excited. They both ran into the arcade and went straight for the same game, which was air hockey. Jin reached down and popped a quarter into the machine, and the game sprang to life.
"You start." he commanded Cameron. Nodding, Cameron grabbed the puck and smacked it as hard as he could, making it difficult for Jin to retaliate. Luckily, he managed to and careened it off of the sideline. There was no way Cameron could stop it; it had sunk itself into his goal effortlessly. After a few more shots, Jin was the eventual winner. Cameron had a sarcastic grimace on his face.
"I'm pro at this game, you have to understand." Kung Jin mocked. Cameron glared at him, but he didn't mean it in a nasty way.
"I'm not really feeling the arcades, to be honest. Want to just go and grab a coffee?" Cameron offered.
With a grin, Jin responded, "I thought you'd never ask." The nearest Starbucks was just a short walk from the arcade, so the pair decided to walk and take in the crisp, clean air that surrounded them. As they stepped up to the door, Cameron jumped it in front and opened the door, gesturing for Jin to go in.
"Thank you very much." Jin said, sarcastically faking a posh voice.
"You're very welcome, my dearest." Cameron replied, doing the same thing. They both laughed as they entered, and the warm air hit them. There was no one in the barista, it was just them and the two servers.
"You grab a table, I'll get the coffees. Order?" Jin asked.
"Java Chip Frappuccino, please." Cameron answered with a smile. Jin nodded and walked to the counter, while Cameron grabbed a table for two. His heart was going at a million beats a minute as the realisation hit him. This was actually happening. He was out on a date with a really hot and nice guy, who was also a member of his sister's team. Sheer bliss.
"There you go." Jin suddenly said, placing a cup gently down on the table. The cup was filled to the top with a bubbly, brown liquied, and it was topped off with whipped cream and a dark brown, almost black, sauce and chocolate chips sprinkled over it. It looked delicious.
"Thank you." Cameron smiled, placing some money down on the table.
Jin pushed it back across the table and, with a grin, replied, "No need. You paid for the movie, I'll pay for these." Cameron's smile grew wider, and he placed the money back in his wallet.
"So, what was growing up with Fujin like?" Jin inquired, wrapping his hands around his cup. The cold droplets of water touched his skin, and they felt...strange.
"It was great, really. Never too stressful, we would just take each day as it happened. We trained, sometimes we would just chill, and, hanging out with him, you wouldn't think he was the God of Wind. He just acts like a normal guy." Cameron explained. Jin couldn't help but laugh. That really wasn't how he knew Fujin. The Wind God was normally so serious and stern.
"Really? It must've been great having a God around to protect you." he said, almost jealously.
"I'm guessing you didn't have anyone?" Cameron sympathetically asked. Kung Jin hung his head, not wanting to make eye contact. Instinctively, Cameron's hand flew across the table and landed on Jin's.
"Don't be embarassed. There's nothing to be ashamed of. Talk to me." he requested. Jin lifted his head, and a tear formed in his eye. Slowly, he began explaining his childhood.
oOoOo
Cameron was crying. Like, really really sobbing.
"So, you had to move away to the US, but you were bullied for being gay? And, on top of that, your cousin being killed like that. It must've been really tough." Cameron said, through tears.
"Yeah, it was. But I came out the other side a much stronger person, and here I am today." he reassured.
"And I'm proud of you. You know that, right?" Cameron stated boldly, smiling. In response, Kung Jin simply nodded. Both of them finished their drinks, still chatting away and enjoying each other's company.
"Shall we go? It's gonna start getting late soon." Cameron offered.
"Yeah, sure. It's been so great being out with you tonight." Jin stated with a grin. Sarcastically, Cameron bowed. Jin couldn't help but laugh. Opening the door slowly, the freezing night air rushed towards the pair of them. They both just stared at each other.
"Well?" Jin asked.
"Well..." Cameron trailed off. Slowly, he grabbed hold of Jin's face and pulled it in close. Tenderly, he pushed his lips against Jin's own. The Shaolin warrior's lips were incredibly soft, and tasted like the beverage he'd just devoured. Jin melted into the kiss, placing his hand on Cameron's hip. There was movement between them, but no request for entry from either. It was just a prolonged kiss on the lips. The need for air arose, so Jin pulled away, and sighed.
"Wow, that was...incredible." he said slowly. Cameron's arms dropped down to his sides.
"I'm really glad. Thanks for an awesome night, Jin. It's been great to hang out with you like this." Cameron explained coolly. Turning a faint shade of pink, Jin's cheeks began to burn. Slowly, he reached down and grabbed Cameron's hand.
"Shall we get going?" he asked.
"Let's." Cameron stated simply.
LOTS OF FEEEEEEEEELS~! Heya everyone, Aaron again here! I'm super duper sorry, my break took a little longer than I was hoping, which I'm sure means a few of you have lost interest :( If you haven't, welcome back! So this is the first chapter of just Kung JinXCameron, and it was a complete joy to write. It's really exciting for me to see where this is going, and I really hope you enjoyed reading it just as much as I enjoyed writing it! As always, leave a favourite or a follow if you enjoyed it, and maybe drop a little review with some CnC if I need to change anything! Byeeee~
~Aaron